Core Java · interview question
Why does overriding hashCode but not equals in a Java class change runtime behavior?
Multiple choiceMediumchapter-4-curatedpremiumcore-javaequals-and-hashcode-in-collections
Answer and explanation
Correct answer
B. The class might break the contract of hash-based collections.
Why
Overriding hashCode without equals can lead to inconsistencies where logically equal objects are treated differently by collections. This breaks the general contract, potentially causing logical errors.
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