Complete Python Interview Questions & Answers

Basic Python
Q: What are Python's key features?

A: Python is interpreted, dynamically typed, high-level, supports object-oriented and functional

programming, and has a large standard library.

Q: Explain the difference between Python 2 and Python 3.

A: Python 3 is the future and has better Unicode support, print is a function, and integer division

returns float. Python 2 is legacy and no longer maintained.

Q: How is Python an interpreted language?

A: Python code is executed line by line by the interpreter rather than being compiled into machine

language beforehand.

Q: What are variables and how do you declare them?

A: Variables are containers for storing data. You declare them simply by assigning a value: `x = 5`.

Q: What are Python data types?

A: Common types include int, float, str, bool, list, tuple, set, dict, and NoneType.

Q: What is type casting in Python?

A: Type casting converts data from one type to another using functions like int(), float(), str().

Q: What are *args and **kwargs?

A: *args allows variable number of positional arguments; **kwargs allows variable number of

keyword arguments.

Q: How does indentation affect Python code?

A: Indentation defines blocks of code and is syntactically required in Python.

Q: What is the difference between `is` and `==`?

A: `is` checks for object identity, `==` checks for value equality.

Data Structures
Q: What are the different built-in data structures in Python?

A: List, Tuple, Set, and Dictionary.

A: Lists are mutable, tuples are immutable.

Q: How is a set different from a list?

A: Sets are unordered and do not allow duplicate values.

Q: What is a dictionary and how do you use it?

A: Dictionaries store key-value pairs. Use curly braces or dict() to define.

Q: How do you iterate over a dictionary?

A: Using a loop: `for key, value in dict.items()`.

Q: How do you merge two dictionaries in Python?

A: Use the unpacking operator `{**d1, **d2}` or `d1.update(d2)`.

Q: What are list comprehensions? Give examples.

A: A concise way to create lists: `[x for x in range(5)]`.

Control Flow
Q: How do `if`, `elif`, and `else` statements work?

A: They control the flow of execution based on conditions.

Q: How do `for` and `while` loops differ?

A: `for` is used with iterables; `while` runs based on a condition.

Q: What are Pythons loop control statements?

A: `break`, `continue`, and `pass`.

Q: How do `break`, `continue`, and `pass` work?

A: `break` exits loop, `continue` skips iteration, `pass` does nothing.

Functions
Q: How do you define a function in Python?

A: Use the `def` keyword followed by the function name and parentheses.

Q: What is the difference between a function and a method?

A: Functions are independent; methods are associated with object instances.

Q: What is recursion? Give an example.

Q: What are lambda functions?

A: Anonymous functions defined using the `lambda` keyword.

Q: Explain the difference between `global` and `nonlocal`.

A: `global` accesses variables in the global scope; `nonlocal` accesses variables in the enclosing

function scope.

Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)

A: Classes are blueprints; objects are instances of classes.

Q: What is `self` in a class?

A: `self` refers to the instance of the class.

Q: What are inheritance, encapsulation, and polymorphism?

A: Inheritance: reuse code, Encapsulation: restrict access, Polymorphism: multiple forms.

Q: What is the difference between `@staticmethod`, `@classmethod`, and instance methods?

A: `staticmethod` doesnt use class or instance, `classmethod` takes cls, instance methods take self.

Q: How do you implement multiple inheritance in Python?

A: By specifying multiple base classes in the class definition.

Error Handling
Q: How does exception handling work in Python?

A: Using try-except blocks.

Q: What is the difference between `try/except`, `try/finally`, and `try/except/finally`?

A: `except` handles errors, `finally` always runs.

Q: How do you create a custom exception?

A: Inherit from `Exception` class.

Modules and Packages

A: A module is a .py file, a package is a folder with `__init__.py`.

A: Using `import module_name`.

Q: What is the use of `__init__.py`?

A: Marks a directory as a Python package.

Q: What are some commonly used Python modules?

A: `os`, `sys`, `math`, `random`, `datetime`.

File Handling
Q: How do you read and write files in Python?

A: Using `open()`, with modes like `r`, `w`, `a`.

Q: What is the difference between `open()`, `with open()`, and `file.close()`?

A: `with` handles file closing automatically.

Q: How do you handle CSV or JSON files in Python?

A: Using `csv` and `json` modules.

Pythonic Concepts
Q: What is slicing in Python?

A: Extracting parts of a sequence using `[start:stop:step]`.

Q: What are generators and how do they differ from iterators?

A: Generators yield values lazily using `yield`; iterators use `__next__()`.

Q: What is a decorator in Python?

A: A function that modifies another functions behavior.

Q: What is a context manager?

A: Manages resources using `with` statement.

Q: What is list/dictionary/set comprehension?

A: Concise ways to create data structures in one line.

Advanced Concepts
Q: Explain GIL (Global Interpreter Lock).

A: GIL allows only one thread to execute at a time in CPython.

A: Using reference counting and garbage collection.

Q: What are closures in Python?

A: Functions retaining access to enclosing variables.

Q: What is monkey patching?

A: Modifying code at runtime.

Q: Explain the use of `@property`.

A: Allows method to be accessed like an attribute.

Libraries & Frameworks

A: NumPy is for numerical arrays; Pandas is for tabular data.

Q: What is the use of `requests` library?

A: To make HTTP requests easily.

Q: How is `Flask` different from `Django`?

A: Flask is lightweight and flexible; Django is feature-rich and opinionated.

Q: What is the role of virtual environments (`venv`, `pipenv`)?

A: To isolate dependencies for different projects.

Testing & Debugging

A: `unittest`, `pytest`, `nose`.

Q: How do you write unit tests using `unittest` or `pytest`?

A: Define test functions with assertions.

Q: How can you debug Python code?

A: Using `pdb` or IDE built-in debuggers.

Multithreading & Multiprocessing

A: Threads share memory, processes have separate memory.

A: By creating Thread objects and starting them.

Q: What is the `multiprocessing` module used for?

A: To run code in parallel using separate memory space.

Data Science/Machine Learning

A: Scikit-learn, Pandas, NumPy, Matplotlib, TensorFlow, etc.

Q: How do you read a dataset using Pandas?

A: Using `pd.read_csv()` or similar functions.

Q: What is the difference between `.loc` and `.iloc`?

A: `.loc` is label-based, `.iloc` is index-based.

Q: How do you handle missing values in a DataFrame?

A: Using `dropna()`, `fillna()` or imputing with statistics.