Python Developer Interview Questions
Python, hailed for its simplicity and versatility, finds its place from web development to AI research. This guide is geared towards discerning the acumen of Python developer candidates. Dive deep into their comprehension of Python syntax, libraries, and frameworks, ensuring you select a candidate ready to tackle diverse challenges with Python's elegant solutions.
Describe the primary features of Python as a programming language.
Answer: Python is an interpreted, high-level, general-purpose language known for its simplicity, readability, and vast standard library. It supports multiple programming paradigms including procedural, object-oriented, and functional programming.
2.
What are Python decorators?
Answer: Decorators allow developers to modify or extend the behavior of callable objects (like functions or methods) without permanently modifying the callable itself.
3.
Explain the difference between a list and a tuple in Python.
Answer: While both are collection data types, lists are mutable (can be changed), and tuples are immutable (cannot be changed). Lists use square brackets [], and tuples use parentheses ().
4.
What is Python's GIL (Global Interpreter Lock)?
Answer: GIL is a mutex that protects access to Python objects, preventing multiple native threads from executing Python bytecodes at once in a single process. It's a limitation for multi-threaded applications.
5.
Describe the use of *args and **kwargs in Python.
Answer: *args allows you to pass a variable number of positional arguments, and **kwargs lets you pass a variable number of keyword arguments. They're useful for functions that can accept an arbitrary number of inputs.
6.
Explain list comprehensions in Python.
Answer: List comprehensions provide a concise way to create lists. For example, [x**2 for x in range(10)] creates a list of squares for numbers from 0 to 9.
7.
How does Python handle memory management?
Answer: Python has a built-in garbage collector that recycles and reclaims memory from objects no longer in use. It primarily uses reference counting to manage memory.
8.
Describe the difference between deep and shallow copy.
Answer: A shallow copy replicates the outer object, but not the inner objects. A deep copy replicates both the outer and inner objects, creating a fully independent clone.
9.
What is a lambda function in Python?
Answer: Lambda functions are small, anonymous functions defined using the lambda keyword. They can have any number of arguments but only one expression.
10.
Explain the difference between "is" and "==" in Python.
Answer: "==" checks if two variables have the same value, while "is" checks if two variables reference the exact same memory location (object identity).
11.
How do you handle exceptions in Python?
Answer: Exceptions in Python are handled using the try, except, finally, and raise keywords.
12.
What's the difference between an iterator and a generator?
Answer: An iterator is an object that implements __iter__() and __next__(), whereas a generator is a special type of iterator that is defined using a regular function and the yield keyword.
13.
Describe Python's with statement and its advantage.
Answer: The with statement simplifies exception handling by encapsulating common preparation and cleanup tasks in context managers. It's often used for file handling to ensure files are properly closed.
14.
What is pickling and unpickling in Python?
Answer: Pickling is the process of converting a Python object into a byte stream, and unpickling is the reverse operation. The pickle module provides this functionality.
15.
Describe the use of the __name__ variable in Python.
Answer: __name__ is a built-in variable that returns the name of the current module. It helps determine if a module is being run standalone or imported elsewhere.
16.
What are Python's namespaces?
Answer: Namespaces are containers that hold identifiers and their corresponding objects. Examples include local, global, and built-in namespaces.
17.
Describe Python's slicing technique.
Answer: Slicing allows you to extract a portion of a sequence (like a list or string). Using the syntax sequence[start:stop:step], you can extract elements.
18.
What are Python metaclasses?
Answer: Metaclasses are "classes of a class" that define how a class behaves. They're a complex feature used to modify class creation.
19.
Explain how else can be used with loops in Python.
Answer: In Python, the else clause in a loop is executed when the loop finishes execution normally (without encountering any breaks).
20.
Describe the use of the pass statement.
Answer: pass is a null statement in Python. It does nothing when executed and is used as a placeholder.
21.
How does Python handle multiple inheritance?
Answer: Python supports multiple inheritance by allowing a class to inherit attributes and methods from more than one parent class. The method resolution order (MRO) determines the order in which base classes are accessed.
22.
What is a virtual environment in Python?
Answer: A virtual environment is an isolated runtime environment that allows users to run specific versions of Python and its libraries, preventing conflicts between versions.
23.
How do you install Python packages?
Answer: Python packages can be installed using pip, Python's package installer, with commands like pip install .
24.
What's the difference between __str__ and __repr__ in Python?
Answer: __str__ returns a user-friendly string representation of an object, while __repr__ returns an unambiguous string representation, typically one that could recreate the object.
25.
Explain the concept of "duck typing" in Python.
Answer: Duck typing refers to the philosophy that what an object can do (its behavior) is more important than its actual type. If an object walks and quacks like a duck, it's treated as a duck.
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