15 Spring Annotations Interview Questions and Answers

Spring Annotations are a powerful feature of the Spring Framework, enabling developers to manage configuration and behavior of their applications with minimal XML. By using annotations, developers can streamline their code, making it more readable and maintainable. This approach is particularly beneficial in large-scale applications where managing dependencies and configurations can become complex.

This article provides a curated selection of interview questions focused on Spring Annotations. Reviewing these questions will help you deepen your understanding of how annotations work within the Spring ecosystem, ensuring you are well-prepared to discuss their usage and benefits in a technical interview setting.

Spring Annotations Interview Questions and Answers

1. How does the @Autowired annotation work in Spring?

The @Autowired annotation in Spring automatically injects dependencies into a bean, reducing the need for manual dependency injection.

Example:

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component
public class Car {
    private Engine engine;

    @Autowired
    public Car(Engine engine) {
        this.engine = engine;
    }
}

@Component
public class Engine {
    // Engine properties and methods
}

In this example, the Car class depends on the Engine class. The @Autowired annotation on the constructor allows Spring to inject an Engine instance when creating a Car.

2. Describe a scenario where you would use the @Qualifier annotation.

The @Qualifier annotation resolves ambiguity when multiple beans of the same type exist. It specifies which bean to inject.

Example:

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Autowired;
import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Qualifier;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component
public class ServiceConsumer {

    private final Service service;

    @Autowired
    public ServiceConsumer(@Qualifier("specificService") Service service) {
        this.service = service;
    }

    public void executeService() {
        service.perform();
    }
}

@Component
@Qualifier("specificService")
public class SpecificService implements Service {
    @Override
    public void perform() {
        System.out.println("Specific Service is performing.");
    }
}

@Component
@Qualifier("anotherService")
public class AnotherService implements Service {
    @Override
    public void perform() {
        System.out.println("Another Service is performing.");
    }
}

Here, ServiceConsumer depends on the Service interface. The @Qualifier annotation specifies that SpecificService should be injected.

3. Write a simple example to demonstrate the use of @Value for injecting property values.

The @Value annotation injects property values into Spring-managed beans.

Example:

import org.springframework.beans.factory.annotation.Value;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Component;

@Component
public class MyBean {

    @Value("${my.property}")
    private String myProperty;

    public void printProperty() {
        System.out.println("Property Value: " + myProperty);
    }
}

In this example, @Value injects the value of my.property into myProperty. The property can be defined in a file like application.properties:

my.property=Hello, Spring!

4. What is the purpose of the @Primary annotation and when would you use it?

The @Primary annotation designates a preferred bean when multiple beans of the same type are available.

Example:

@Configuration
public class AppConfig {

    @Bean
    @Primary
    public MyService primaryService() {
        return new PrimaryServiceImpl();
    }

    @Bean
    public MyService secondaryService() {
        return new SecondaryServiceImpl();
    }
}

Here, PrimaryServiceImpl is the default bean injected for MyService.

5. What is the role of the @Transactional annotation in method execution?

The @Transactional annotation manages transactions declaratively, ensuring that all database operations within a method are part of a single transaction.

Example:

@Service
public class UserService {

    @Autowired
    private UserRepository userRepository;

    @Transactional
    public void createUser(User user) {
        userRepository.save(user);
    }
}

In this example, createUser is executed within a transactional context.

6. Explain the use of @RestController in a Spring Boot application.

@RestController in Spring Boot creates RESTful web services by combining @Controller and @ResponseBody.

Example:

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class MyRestController {

    @GetMapping("/greeting")
    public String greeting() {
        return "Hello, World!";
    }
}

Here, @RestController defines a RESTful service, with @GetMapping mapping HTTP GET requests to the greeting method.

7. Write a code snippet to demonstrate the use of @RequestMapping for mapping HTTP requests.

@RequestMapping maps HTTP requests to handler methods in controllers.

Example:

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMethod;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class MyController {

    @RequestMapping(value = "/hello", method = RequestMethod.GET)
    public String sayHello() {
        return "Hello, World!";
    }

    @RequestMapping(value = "/goodbye", method = RequestMethod.POST)
    public String sayGoodbye() {
        return "Goodbye, World!";
    }
}

In this example, @RequestMapping maps /hello to sayHello for GET requests and /goodbye to sayGoodbye for POST requests.

8. How does the @PathVariable annotation work in Spring MVC?

The @PathVariable annotation binds a URI template variable to a method parameter.

Example:

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.PathVariable;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
public class MyController {

    @RequestMapping("/users/{userId}")
    public String getUser(@PathVariable String userId) {
        return "User ID: " + userId;
    }
}

Here, @PathVariable binds the userId variable from the URL to the method parameter.

9. Describe how @RequestParam is used to extract query parameters in a controller method.

The @RequestParam annotation extracts query parameters from the URL.

Example:

import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestParam;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
public class MyController {

    @GetMapping("/greet")
    public String greet(@RequestParam(name = "name", required = false, defaultValue = "World") String name) {
        return "Hello, " + name;
    }
}

In this example, @RequestParam extracts the name query parameter, defaulting to “World” if not provided.

10. Write an example to show how @ExceptionHandler can be used to handle exceptions in a Spring controller.

The @ExceptionHandler annotation handles exceptions at the controller level.

Example:

import org.springframework.http.HttpStatus;
import org.springframework.http.ResponseEntity;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ControllerAdvice;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.ExceptionHandler;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.GetMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RequestMapping;
import org.springframework.web.bind.annotation.RestController;

@RestController
@RequestMapping("/api")
public class MyController {

    @GetMapping("/example")
    public String exampleMethod() {
        if (true) {
            throw new RuntimeException("An error occurred");
        }
        return "Success";
    }

    @ExceptionHandler(RuntimeException.class)
    public ResponseEntity<String> handleRuntimeException(RuntimeException ex) {
        return new ResponseEntity<>(ex.getMessage(), HttpStatus.INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR);
    }
}

Here, handleRuntimeException handles RuntimeException thrown by methods in the same controller.

11. How does the @Cacheable annotation work in Spring?

The @Cacheable annotation caches the result of a method call.

Example:

import org.springframework.cache.annotation.Cacheable;
import org.springframework.stereotype.Service;

@Service
public class ProductService {

    @Cacheable("products")
    public Product getProductById(String productId) {
        try {
            Thread.sleep(3000);
        } catch (InterruptedException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        return new Product(productId, "Sample Product");
    }
}

In this example, getProductById caches its result in a cache named “products”.

12. Describe the use of @Profile for defining bean profiles in a Spring application.

The @Profile annotation indicates that a bean is only eligible for registration when specified profiles are active.

Example:

@Configuration
public class AppConfig {

    @Bean
    @Profile("development")
    public DataSource devDataSource() {
        return new DataSource("dev-url", "dev-username", "dev-password");
    }

    @Bean
    @Profile("production")
    public DataSource prodDataSource() {
        return new DataSource("prod-url", "prod-username", "prod-password");
    }
}

Here, devDataSource is registered when the “development” profile is active, and prodDataSource when the “production” profile is active.

13. Write an example to demonstrate the use of @Conditional for conditional bean registration.

The @Conditional annotation registers beans based on certain conditions.

Example:

import org.springframework.context.annotation.Bean;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Conditional;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;

@Configuration
public class AppConfig {

    @Bean
    @Conditional(MyCondition.class)
    public MyService myService() {
        return new MyService();
    }
}

In this example, MyService is registered if the condition in MyCondition is met.

import org.springframework.context.annotation.Condition;
import org.springframework.context.annotation.ConditionContext;
import org.springframework.core.type.AnnotatedTypeMetadata;

public class MyCondition implements Condition {

    @Override
    public boolean matches(ConditionContext context, AnnotatedTypeMetadata metadata) {
        return true;
    }
}

14. Explain the use of the @PropertySource annotation in Spring.

The @PropertySource annotation specifies the location of properties files to be loaded into the Spring Environment.

Example:

@Configuration
@PropertySource("classpath:application.properties")
public class AppConfig {
    @Value("${property.name}")
    private String propertyName;
}

Here, @PropertySource loads application.properties, and @Value injects a specific property value.

15. What is the role of the @Import annotation in Spring?

The @Import annotation imports configuration classes into the current application context.

Example:

@Configuration
public class AppConfig {
    // Bean definitions
}

@Configuration
@Import(AppConfig.class)
public class MainConfig {
    // Additional bean definitions
}

In this example, MainConfig imports AppConfig, making its beans available in the application context.