{"id":984,"date":"2021-06-01T08:53:00","date_gmt":"2021-06-01T05:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arc.dev\/developer-blog\/?p=984"},"modified":"2024-11-28T12:25:20","modified_gmt":"2024-11-28T04:25:20","slug":"spring-interview-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arc.dev\/talent-blog\/spring-interview-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"20 Spring Interview Questions and Answers to Know (With MVC & Boot)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Spring has just celebrated its 20th anniversary in late 2022, and the Java framework isn\u2019t showing signs of waning popularity. In fact, on our job board, we have hundreds of Spring jobs available<\/a> for remote developers at any given time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, if you made it here, you probably have a Spring interview coming up \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a hiring manager, what are some of the common and most up-to-date Spring Framework interview questions to ask?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the guide below, we\u2019ll walk you through Spring interview questions and answers, from basic ones on the fundamentals to tougher questions on aspect-oriented programming, model-view-controller, JDBC, and more. After each of these popular interview questions on Spring, we\u2019ll explain what you should look for in your candidate\u2019s answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s get started, shall we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Spring, Spring Core, and Spring IoC Interview Questions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is a Spring configuration file?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A Spring configuration file defines the relationship between different classes in the Spring application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an interviewer asking this question about the Spring configuration file, you should know that it can be defined differently. Essentially, it defines application behavior by allowing you to declare configurations such as Beans and Bean life cycles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the file is traditionally defined as an XML file, these can also be defined as @Configuration<\/code> annotations through Spring Core. The annotation method is a modern way of defining Spring configurations and is becoming more commonplace than the XML file. Therefore, it’s important to recognize that questions about the @Configuration<\/code> annotation are very similar to questions about the Spring configuration file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Spring IoC (Inversion of Control) Container?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Spring IoC Container enables dependency injection by managing bean instantiation and configuration. These are commonly defined with ApplicationContext<\/code> or BeanFactory<\/code>. Since these serve as a centralized interface for application configuration, every project typically begins with a boilerplate setup of the ApplicationContext<\/code>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IoC is a software principle that enables us to have a loose coupling between objects. In the Spring ecosystem, IoC is displayed when Spring creates an object and provides that object additional metadata and dependencies on its behalf. This is essentially a dependency injection. When you ask your candidate about Spring IoC, they should know that it is essentially a dependency injection in action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you use dependency injection<\/em> with Spring?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dependency injection can be achieved in Spring through XML configurations, Spring annotations such as @Autowire<\/code>, and configuring the IoC container through ApplicationContext<\/code>. By using dependency injection, you can make one service available in another without having to explicitly initialize one since Spring will manage its life cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While @Autowire<\/code> is commonly used for setting up dependency injection, Spring 4.3+ will actually scan your classes to manage them on your behalf. This question is perfect if you want to gauge whether your candidate\u2019s familiar with newer versions of Spring!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the difference between constructor injection<\/em> and setter injection<\/em>?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You may ask your candidates about these types of injections to gauge their depth of understanding regarding Spring dependency injection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setter injection<\/em> defines dependencies after an object is instantiated. Constructor injection<\/em> defines dependencies when an object is created. In practice, setter injection is typically used for optional dependencies, and constructor injection is used for mandatory dependencies that are required for expected behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To follow up, you may ask your candidate to provide an example of how they may have used setter or constructor injection in object definitions. This helps you better understand whether their understanding of Spring dependency injections is mostly theoretical or backed by hands-on experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does Spring manage Beans differently from other Java objects?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Understanding the difference between Spring Beans and Java Beans is crucial for your candidate to be able to explain the abstractions that Spring builds on top of Java. To hire a great Spring developer, you want a strong Java engineer who understands the Spring Framework instead of engineers who can only write applications with Spring Framework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spring manages the lifecycle (instantiation, invocation, destructor) of Spring Beans through the IoC container.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s important that your candidate doesn\u2019t get Spring Beans mixed up with Java Beans. Java Beans are a concept outside of the scope of Spring and simply define some interfaces that a Java class must-have. A Spring Bean could be a Java Bean if its lifecycle is managed by Spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Explore our other software development interview questions and answers to prep for your next remote job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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