Java Interview Questions · interview question

Which practice avoids a common mistake with equals() vs ==?

Multiple choiceMediumjava-interview-2026interviewjavapitfall

Ignore the equals() vs == issue and rely on team discipline instead of APIs or contracts.Silence the equals() vs == problem by using raw types, broad catches, or shared mutable state.If you override equals, you must also provide a consistent hashCode implementation for collection behavior to stay correct.Prefer the version of equals() vs == that makes behavior less predictable as long as the code compiles.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer

C. If you override equals, you must also provide a consistent hashCode implementation for collection behavior to stay correct.

Why

If you override equals, you must also provide a consistent hashCode implementation for collection behavior to stay correct. This is a common failure mode in real Java code and a frequent interview follow-up.

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Which practice avoids a common mistake with equals() vs ==?

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