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[Top Interview Question]Why Do We Need to Override hashCode() and equals() in Java?

Sanjay Singh
3 min readFeb 12, 2025

Introduction

❓ Ever wondered why Java developers always stress about overriding hashCode() and equals() together?

In this article, we’ll cover: ✅ The role of hashCode() and equals() in Java.
✅ Why you must override both methods.
✅ Common mistakes and best practices.
✅ A practical example demonstrating their importance.

[Top Interview Question]Why Do We Need to Override hashCode() and equals() in Java?

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1. Understanding equals() and hashCode()

1.1 What is equals()?

The equals() method compares the contents of two objects to determine if they are logically equal.

Default Implementation (from Object class)

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Sanjay Singh
Sanjay Singh

Written by Sanjay Singh

Java, Spring Boot & Microservices developer Sharing knowledge, tutorials & coding tips on my Medium page. Follow me for insights & see story list section

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