Latest 100 senior full-stack developer interview questions and answers 2024

An application server is a specialized software that provides a runtime environment and middleware for running enterprise-level applications. It handles the communication between the user interface, application logic, and data storage layers of an application.It provides the business logic behind any application.

When a client first makes a request, it goes to the web server, which sends it to the application server. The application server requests the information from the database server and sends it back to the web server. The web server sends the information to the client.

Optimizing SQL queries means identifying the most effective techniques to enhance SQL query performance. Here are the most effective ways to optimize queries.

Indexing: It helps in accessing the database quickly to find the relevant data.

Use SELECT query instead of SELECT*: Use SELECT query to specify the columns you need instead of SELECT* to avoid unnecessary I/O operations that slow down the query.

Avoid too many JOINs: Use the appropriate JOIN type for your SQL query to ensure you get the desired results and minimize unnecessary processing.

Use subqueries: Using a subquery instead of a JOIN can be more efficient sometimes. If you only need to retrieve data from one table based on data in another, using a subquery can be faster than using a JOIN.

Use table aliases: Table aliases can make your query easier to read and write. Use aliases for tables and columns to make your query more readable.

Optimize database design: Optimize database design by avoiding redundant data and using appropriate data types. A well-designed database can help you improve query performance.

Use Wildcards: Using wildcards helps you search the database for matching results.

Browsers like Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Microsoft Edge, etc., may interpret web code differently. As a result, a web page or application that looks and functions correctly in one browser may not work the same way in another. Here are a few tips to handle browser compatibility issues.

Use a CSS Reset: Different browsers have different design layouts, which can cause layout inconsistencies. A CSS reset can help by setting a common baseline for all browsers.

Use cross-browser frameworks and libraries: Cross-browser frameworks and libraries such as jQuery, React, or Angular can help developers avoid browser-specific code and provide a consistent interface across different browsers.

Test on multiple browsers and devices: Developers should test their websites or applications on multiple browsers, including popular ones such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, to check compatibility.

Use polyfills and shims: Polyfills and shims are code snippets that provide fallback functionality for web features not supported by some browsers. You can use libraries like Modernizr, Polyfill. io, or HTML5 Shiv to help fill in gaps in browser support.

• An abstract class can have abstract and non-abstract methods, but an interface can only have abstract methods.
• Variables declared in an abstract class may contain non-static and non-final variables, whereas those declared in a Java interface are only static and final.
• An abstract class can provide an implementation of an interface. On the other hand, an Interface can’t implement an abstract class.
• A Java abstract class can have public, private, and protected members, but an interface only has public members.
• An abstract class can be extended using the "extends" keyword. An interface can be implemented using the "implements" keyword.

Using floats in CSS allows you to position elements (typically images) such that surrounding content can flow around them. However, when using floats, it may cause subsequent elements to flow around floated items, leading to undesired layout issues. Clearing floats is necessary to prevent such issues and ensure proper control of the layout.

There are multiple methods to clear floats in CSS. Some common techniques include:

• Clear attribute: Use the clear CSS property, with the values left, right, both, or none, on the elements that follow the floated elements:

.element-to-clear {

clear: both;

}

• Clearfix (the most common method): Apply the "clearfix" technique using a pseudo-element, which involves creating an invisible element to clear the floats. This method helps avoid adding extra markup to your HTML:

.group::after {

content: "";

display: table;

clear: both;

}

JavaScript allows us to share code between files by ‘imports’ and ‘exports’. We can share code written in one file with another using ‘require’ and ‘module. exports’ statements in ES5 syntax, whereas we can use ‘import’ and ‘export’ statements in ES6 syntax.

Native objects are pre-defined objects provided by JavaScript. These objects are available to all users globally, irrespective of the machine and environment.

On the other hand, host objects are environment-specific JavaScript objects, varying according to the machine environment we use.

Using a set is the best way to remove duplicates from an array in ES6 because it only allows you to store unique values. When you convert the array to a set, it will remove any duplicate values. Then you need to convert the set back to an array with unique values.

Strict mode is a feature in JavaScript that allows us to execute the code in a restricted environment. It helps detect errors in the code that would normally get executed without any errors. We can enable strict mode by adding "use strict" at the top of the file or in the required function.
Example:

The string “use strict” at the top of the file tells the JavaScript interpreter to run the code in strict mode, which enforces stricter syntax and error handling rules. Next, we define a function called myFunction() that multiplies an undeclared variable x by 2 and returns the result. In non-strict mode, this would execute without any issues, but in strict mode, an error will be thrown because x is not declared.

Database indexing is like indexing in a book. Just like an index in a book helps us find a particular chapter or information quickly, a database index helps locate the data quickly. It reduces the number of rows or columns to be checked and quickly finds the information you are looking for when a query with a “where” clause is executed. That's how database indexing works.

A filter is a JavaScript function that allows you to apply common text formatting to dynamic data. It doesn't change the data directly but only changes the output to a browser. It takes through value, manipulates it, and displays the processed values.

Filters are applied using the "pipe character (|) followed by the filter name. We can apply filters in two ways: local and global. Local filters can be used inside the component in which they are defined, whereas global filters can be used in any component.

The "this" operator in JavaScript can be inconsistent because it can have different values based on where it is used. Its value is determined by how the function used is called rather than where it is declared. The value of "this" can also be changed using the call, apply, or bind functions making it difficult to predict the value of "this" in a given situation, which creates inconsistencies.

A data structure is a way of organizing and storing data (facts and figures) in a specialized format to retrieve it quickly and efficiently. Basically, there are two types of data structures:

Linear data structure:

• Array: A linear collection of elements of the same type.
• Stack: Elements are stored in the LIFO (a last-in, first-out) principle.
• Queue: A queue data structure is based on the FIFO (a first-in, first-out) principle.
• Linked list: It is a collection of elements, wherein each contains a reference to the next element.

Non-linear data structure:

• Graph: A data structure that consists of vertices (nodes) and edges (links) that connects the vertices
• Trees: A hierarchical data structure wherein each node has two child nodes

The 'main' element in HTML represents the core content of a document. The content within the tag should be unique and not repeated across documents, such as sidebars, navigation links, search forms, etc. The element must be used only once in the HTML file. It requires a closing tag at the end of the content.

Semantic HTML or semantic markup is the HTML that introduces the meaning to the webpage instead of just the presentation. For example, HTML elements such as header, footer, nav, main, article, p time, etc., are used to define the different sections and content on the page.

There are several reasons for using semantic HTML:

• It helps search engines determine the importance and context of web pages.
• Semantic HTML makes it easier to maintain a website as the code is easier to understand.
• The pages built with semantic elements are more user-friendly and easier to read.
• Semantic HTML is important for search engine optimization (SEO).

A Pascal string is a data structure used to represent and manipulate text strings in some programming languages such as Pascal. In the context of full-stack development, it might not be as prominent as some other string representation methods, but it can still be encountered or used in certain situations.

Common types of Pascal strings are

Character arrays: These are numbers, letters, special characters, etc., enclosed in a single quote.

String variables: The variable of string type is declared inside the var block in Turbo Pascal.

Short strings: We use this string type when the total capacity remains constant.

Null terminated strings: This string type has the same structural layout as a C string.

AnsiStrings: This string type does not have any length limit.

• A map accepts any type of value like string, boolean, number, etc., whereas a WeakMap only accepts only objects as keys.
• Maps are iterable, but WeakMaps are not.
• A “Map” has a size property, but a “WeakMap” does not have the same.
• The garbage collector doesn’t remove any key pointer from "Map," but it removes the key pointer from "WeakMap".

• A web server is designed to handle HTTP requests and is used to serve static content such as HTML pages, images, and other files to web browsers, whereas an application server is designed to handle dynamic content and is used to serve business logic and application functionality to clients
• A web server is usually deployed in front of an application server to handle incoming web requests and serve static content, while the application server is responsible for processing dynamic requests and running business logic.
• Web servers provide a runtime environment for websites and web applications, whereas application servers provide a runtime environment for enterprise applications.
• Web servers don't support multi-threading, but the application server supports it.

JDBC and Hibernate are Java technologies used for managing relational databases. Both technologies have some similarities, but they are not the same. Here is the difference between JDBC and Hibernate.

DevOps is a technique that aims to build coordination to streamline software development and IT operations. It enables teams to work together to deliver software products faster and ensure better quality. The primary goal of DevOps is to increase efficiency and reduce errors.

Under a DevOps model, the development and operations teams are no longer "siloed." Sometimes, the two teams are merged into a single team. The DevOps engineers work across the complete application lifecycle - from development and testing to deployment and operations. These engineers have multidisciplinary skills.

Promises provide an interface for dealing with asynchronous operations, allowing chaining of .then() and .catch() methods. Async/await is a syntactic sugar built on top of Promises that makes asynchronous code look more like synchronous code, using async functions and the await keyword.

A thread is defined as the single, sequential flow of the control within a program. It is not the program itself and cannot run on its own. In a running program, a thread may have to dig some of its resources.

For example, the execution stack and program counter must belong to that thread. The code in a given thread is useful only for that particular context. A single thread has a single point of execution, i.e., only one user can manage one request at a time.

Multi-threading is a process that is used to improve CPU performance. Through this process, multiple users can manage the program at the same time, or the same user can manage several requests simultaneously. Multi-threading is achieved by executing several processes that the operating system supports.

For example, a web browser has multi-threads running simultaneously - while you scroll through a page, you can simultaneously download an application or a document, listen to music, take a print in the background, and more.

There are three main methods of session management in servlet:

URL Rewriting: It is a session management method in which a unique session ID is added to every URL. When the browser requests a new page, the session ID is sent back to the server. It allows the server to associate the request with a specific session.

HttpSession: It is a built-in interface in Servlet used to store session data on the server side.

Cookies: Cookies are data sent by a servlet to a client's browser. The browser saves cookies and sends them back to the server in subsequent requests.

In synchronous programming, the program execution happens in a sequential and blocking manner. This means the code lines are executed one after the other, and the program has to wait for the current operation to finish before moving on to the next one.

On the other hand, asynchronous programming refers to a programming model where the program execution happens in a non-blocking and parallel manner. In this model, multiple tasks can run simultaneously, and the execution of one task does not depend on another.

Pair programming helps teams to collaborate and share knowledge among the members. As two developers work together to complete the task, it ensures better code quality. It also helps in detecting bugs easily and identifying the scopes for improvement. Besides that, pair programming promotes better communication between team members and builds a positive work environment.

The event loop is a fundamental part of the JavaScript runtime environment. An event loop in JavaScript is a mechanism that executes tasks in a non-blocking manner. It continuously checks the message queue for new events to process and runs the corresponding event handlers.

It manages the execution of tasks and events, allowing the runtime to handle asynchronous operations such as network requests and file I/O without blocking the execution of other tasks.

Example:

It's impossible to completely prevent data scraping if the data within the API is publicly accessible. However, throttling is an effective way to deter bots from scraping a public API. It can prevent a device from making a certain number of requests within a specific time.

Moreover, an HTTP error should be thrown on exceeding a defined number of requests. Apart from this, a good bot detection solution can identify visitors' behavior and automatically block malicious bots that show signs of web scraping.

In Java, a connection leak refers to a situation where a database connection is not properly closed after it has been used, resulting in the connection being unavailable for reuse by other parts of the application or by other applications. This can lead to a gradual depletion of available connections and eventually cause the application to fail due to a lack of resources.

To fix a connection leak in Java, you must always close database connections explicitly after use, preferably in a final block, to ensure that the connection is closed regardless of whether an exception occurs or not.

JavaScript callback functions can be used synchronously and asynchronously. Callback functions are required because many actions are asynchronous, so they don't block a program or function from running until it is completed.

To create a callback function in JavaScript, we need to pass it as a parameter to another function and call it back when the task is completed.

Example:

The following are the most common ways to reduce the load time of web applications:

• Compress and optimize the images on your web application.
• Keep your Javascript and CSS code in separate files outside the main HTML document.
• Reduce the file size of JavaScript and style sheets.
• Reduce the number of HTTP requests a web page needs to make.
• Place script references at the bottom of your HTML page.
• Reduce the number of 301 redirects.
• Enable browser caching to avoid reloading every time a user visits the page.

Zip() is an inbuilt function in Python that takes iterable (such as lists, arrays, etc.) as input and returns a single iterator of tuples. Each tuple contains the n-th elements from each of the input iterables. The zip function combines elements from each of the iterables.

For example, if you have two lists [1, 2, 3,...] and [A, B, C,...], the zip function will combine them into a single list [(1, A), (2, B), (3, C),...].

Deadlock is a situation in Java when two or more threads are trying to access the same object. It happens only in the case of multi-threading. We can avoid a deadlock situation by using the following ways.

Avoid nested locks: Avoid giving a lock to multiple threads if we have already given it to one.

Use lock timeouts: We can specify a time for a thread to prevent it from waiting indefinitely for a lock.

Avoid Unnecessary Locks: Using locks unnecessarily can lead to a deadlock, and we should avoid it.

Use lock escalation: Lock escalation helps convert multiple locks into fewer ones, reducing the risk of deadlocks.

Debouncing means postponing a function's execution until a certain amount of time passes after the last event that triggered it. Here's one way of creating a debounce function in JavaScript:

Error handling in a GraphQL server can be achieved using a custom error format, adding error codes, and wrapping resolver functions with error-catching middleware or higher-order functions. Errors should be properly categorized and returned to the client in a structured format to facilitate error handling on the client-side.

A recursive function to calculate Fibonacci numbers can be implemented as follows:

Note: This solution is inefficient due to repeated calculations.You need to use dynamic programming for better performance.

Generators are special functions in JavaScript that allow you to create and traverse through an iterator using the yield keyword. Here's an example:

A React component goes through three main phases in its lifecycle: mounting, updating, and unmounting. In each phase, there are associated lifecycle methods. These methods can be used to manage state and side effects in a component's lifecycle:

Mounting: constructor, getDerivedStateFromProps, render, componentDidMount.

Updating: getDerivedStateFromProps, shouldComponentUpdate, render, getSnapshotBeforeUpdate, componentDidUpdate.

Unmounting: componentWillUnmount.

Controlled components have their form input values controlled by the component's state via event handlers, while uncontrolled components rely on the DOM to manage input state. Controlled components are used to ensure input validation, updates, and synchronization with the component's state, while uncontrolled components might be used if the DOM input state management suffices for simple inputs.

useMemo returns a memoized value, preventing unnecessary calculations if the inputs don't change. The useCallback memoizes a function to avoid redefining it on each render, which can be helpful when passing callbacks to child components.

Here's an example:

Here's a simple example of a middleware function in Express.js that logs incoming requests:

A simple pub/sub system can be achieved with an event emitter:

Event objects are used by Node.js modules to emit events to signal state changes, resource availability, or errors. Event-driven programming using Event objects allows for efficient and highly scalable applications, especially when dealing with I/O-bound workloads.

Here's a simple example of reading a file asynchronously using async/await and the fs.promises API:

A simple caching mechanism can be implemented using middleware and an in-memory JavaScript object, or more efficient caching systems such as Redis. Here's an example with an in-memory cache:

A custom Pipe in Angular can be created by defining a class that implements the PipeTransform interface and adding the @Pipe() decorator. Pipes can be used to transform values in Angular templates within data bindings. Here's an example of a custom "multiply" pipe:

For large Vue.js applications, it is recommended to use Vuex, a centralized state management library. Vuex provides a single source of truth for application state and allows for predictable, atomic state updates via actions, mutations, and getters.

Here's an example Koa.js middleware function to measure request processing time:

Reactive programming is a programming paradigm that revolves around using data streams, such as events or changes in variables, and reacting to them. It allows for asynchronous, event-driven programming and can help create efficient and resilient web applications that can react automatically to state changes. Reactive programming can enhance code maintainability, expressiveness, and simplify complex asynchronous scenarios.

Here's an example of creating and subscribing to an RxJS observable, which emits a new value every second:

In a Python web application, you can use a library such as Flask-SocketIO or Django Channels to implement WebSocket communication and manage message passing between the server and the WebSocket client. The server and client send and receive messages via the WebSocket using event-based listeners and emitters.

Here's a simple example of a CSS Grid Layout:

Optimistic updates involve immediately updating the client-side state and UI to eflect a user action, assuming the server request will be successful. If the server request fails, the previous state is restored, and the user is notified about the error. Here's how to handle optimistic updates in a web application:

• Capture the current state before performing an update.
• Update the client-side state and UI immediately.
• Send the update request to the server.
• On server request success, confirm the update and maintain the client-side state.
• On server request failure, restore the previous state and notify the user about the error.

This approach can be implemented using tools like Redux or Vuex for state management and can improve the perceived performance and responsiveness of the application.

Error boundaries are a mechanism provided by React to catch and handle errors in the component tree. To implement an error boundary, create a component that implements the componentDidCatch lifecycle method or static getDerivedStateFromError and wrap it around the desired components. Here's an example:

Request blocking occurs when the browser is forced to wait for a resource (e.g., a script, a stylesheet, or a font) to be fetched and processed before it can continue rendering the DOM or executing subsequent scripts. To address request blocking:

• Use async or defer attributes on script tags to allow downloading and execution without blocking rendering.
• Load CSS stylesheets using media attribute or JavaScript to prevent blocking.
• Minimize the use of render-blocking custom web fonts or use the font-display property to control their loading behavior.
• Use efficient resource loading strategies like prioritizing critical resources and lazy-loading non-critical resources.

Atomic design is a methodology for creating design systems by breaking down the user interface into five hierarchical component levels:

• Atoms: Basic building blocks, like HTML tags, buttons, inputs, or labels.
• Molecules: Combinations of atoms that form a simple functional unit, such as a search form.
• Organisms: Combinations of molecules and/or atoms to form a more complex, reusable section of the interface, like a header or sidebar.
• Templates: Layouts that combine organisms and other UI elements to form a page structure.
• Pages: Instances of templates filled with actual content to represent the final design.

This method allows for a systematic, modular, and scalable approach to web design and development.

To implement a performance benchmarking tool for Node.js applications, you can use built-in modules like perf_hooks or third-party libraries like Benchmark.js. These tools help measure the runtime of specific functions or code snippets and provide insights into the performance characteristics of your code.

Here's an example using perf_hooks: