Here are some commonly asked Python interview questions you should prepare for, categorized into various topics:
Basic Python Concepts
- What are Python’s key features?
- What is PEP 8, and why is it important?
- How is Python interpreted?
- Explain the difference between a deep copy and a shallow copy.
- How are Python variables scoped?
Data Types and Structures
- What are Python’s built-in data types?
- Explain the difference between a list, tuple, set, and dictionary.
- How does Python handle mutable and immutable data types?
- How do you merge two dictionaries in Python?
- How would you implement a queue or a stack in Python?
Functions and Modules
- What are Python’s function types (e.g., anonymous, generator)?
- What is the difference between
*args
and**kwargs
? - How does Python implement closures?
- What is a Python decorator? How do you use one?
- What are Python modules and packages, and how are they different?
Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
- What is the difference between a class and an instance?
- Explain inheritance and its types in Python.
- What are Python’s special or magic methods (e.g.,
__init__
,__str__
)? - What is method overloading and method overriding?
- What is the difference between
@staticmethod
and@classmethod
?
Error and Exception Handling
- How does Python handle exceptions?
- What is the difference between
try-except
andtry-finally
? - How do you raise and handle custom exceptions?
- What are the built-in exception classes in Python?
- How can you log errors in Python?
File Handling
- How do you read and write files in Python?
- What is the difference between
read()
,readline()
, andreadlines()
? - What is the purpose of the
with
statement in file handling? - How would you work with CSV or JSON files in Python?
- How do you handle binary files in Python?
Python Libraries and Frameworks
- What is the difference between NumPy and pandas?
- Explain the significance of Django or Flask in web development.
- How would you use
requests
for making HTTP requests? - What is the role of Python’s
unittest
orpytest
framework? - What is Python’s
multiprocessing
vs.threading
module?
Advanced Topics
- What are Python iterators and generators?
- Explain the concept of metaclasses in Python.
- What is the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)?
- How do you handle memory management in Python?
- How does Python’s garbage collection work?
Algorithms and Problem Solving
- How would you reverse a string in Python?
- How do you find the largest/smallest element in a list?
- How would you implement Fibonacci sequence generation?
- Explain how to find duplicates in a list.
- How do you handle anagrams in Python?
Database and ORMs
- How do you connect to a database in Python?
- What is SQLAlchemy, and why is it used?
- How do you use Python’s
sqlite3
module? - Explain the difference between an ORM and raw SQL.
- How would you handle transactions in Python?
Testing and Debugging
- How do you debug Python code?
- What are Python assertions, and when would you use them?
- How do you write unit tests in Python?
- What is the difference between mocking and stubbing?
- How do you use
pdb
for debugging?
Performance and Optimization
- How do you optimize a slow Python program?
- What is the role of
lru_cache
in Python? - How can you profile Python code?
- Explain the use of Cython or PyPy for performance improvement.
- What are Python’s memory-efficient data structures?
Concurrency
- What is the difference between multithreading and multiprocessing?
- How does Python handle asynchronous programming?
- What is the
asyncio
module used for? - Explain the difference between a coroutine and a thread.
- How do you implement locks in Python?
Practicing solutions for these questions along with coding exercises will help you excel in Python interviews. Let me know if you need detailed answers or explanations for any of these topics!