Sharpen your understanding of core Object-Oriented Programming (OOP) concepts interviewers actually test, including encapsulation, inheritance, abstraction, and real-world design scenarios. Boost your interview confidence by learning how these ideas improve code maintainability and extensibility.
Which explanation best describes why OOP exists from an interviewer's perspective?
Explanation: The main purpose of OOP is to model software around real-world entities, making systems easier to extend, test, and maintain. Memorizing definitions does not showcase true understanding. Code performance isn't a primary goal, and OOP doesn't require objects in every situation.
In the BankAccount example, how does encapsulation help maintain the integrity of the account balance?
Explanation: Encapsulation hides internal details such as balance and exposes only what the client needs (deposit), preventing invalid states. Allowing direct access or making variables public breaks encapsulation. Storing data outside the class doesn't relate to encapsulation.
What is a key risk associated with using inheritance in OOP according to the context?
Explanation: Inheritance can increase coupling, making changes affect multiple parts of the code. It does not reduce coupling or guarantee ease of future changes. Code reusability through inheritance is not always appropriate, especially if behavior changes often.
What is the main difference between abstraction and encapsulation based on the article?
Explanation: Encapsulation focuses on protecting internal details, while abstraction simplifies usage by exposing only what is necessary. The other options reverse definitions or are incorrect, as neither concept involves making everything public.
How does Java support multiple inheritance, and why does it avoid it with classes?
Explanation: Java avoids multiple inheritance with classes to prevent method ambiguity (Diamond Problem), but supports it using interfaces. Direct multiple inheritance of classes is not allowed, and inheritance is a key OOP feature in Java.