Fundamentals

Question 1

What is an algorithm

Answer 1

A self-contained step-by-step set of operations to be performed

Question 2

What are the 4 parts of algorithm analysis

Answer 2

1. Correctness
2. Termination
3. Time analysis (number of instructions)
4. Space analysis (necessary memory)

Question 3

What are the 4 rules of recursion

Answer 3

1. Have a base case (end of recursion)
2. Make progress towards base case
3. Design so that all recursive calls work
4. No compound interest, never duplicate work

Question 4

What is it called when you use an object type as the primitive counterpart and vice versa?

Answer 4

Autoboxing: primitive -> object
Auto-unboxing: object -> primitive

Question 5

What is it called when you do not have to explicitly define the object type on instantiation?

Answer 5

You use the Diamond Operator, and this is called Type Inference

Question 6

What are wildcards used for

Answer 6

The ? operator is used on collections for generics, or otherwise you have runtime errors