Python Iterators & Generators
40 Essential Interview-Style Questions & Answers
Contents:
1–20 Iterators
21–40 Generators
Iterators
Q1. What is an iterator in Python?
Ans: An iterator is an object that implements the iterator protocol, consisting of __iter__() and __next__() methods.
Q2. What is the difference between iterable and iterator?
Ans: Iterable: object that can return an iterator (has __iter__). Iterator: object that produces items via _
Q3. How do you create an iterator from an iterable?
Ans: Use iter(): numbers = [1,2,3]; it = iter(numbers).
Q4. How do you get the next value from an iterator?
Ans: Use next(it). When exhausted, raises StopIteration.
Q5. What happens when an iterator is exhausted?
Ans: Further calls to next() raise StopIteration.
Q6. How does for loop use iterators internally?
Ans: for loop calls iter() on the object, then repeatedly calls next() until StopIteration.
Q7. What is the __iter__ method used for?
Ans: It returns the iterator object itself, allowing use in for-loops and comprehensions.
Q8. What is the __next__ method used for?
Ans: It returns the next item or raises StopIteration when no more items remain.
Q9. Can an iterator be reset?
Ans: No. To iterate again, you must create a new iterator from the iterable.
Q10. What is the difference between list and iterator?
Ans: List stores all elements in memory; iterator produces elements on demand without storing them all.
Q11. How do you build a custom iterator?
Ans: Define a class with __iter__(self) returning self and __next__(self) yielding next values.
Q12. Give an example of a custom iterator that generates squares.
Ans: class Squares:
def __init__(self, n): self.i, self.n = 0,n
def __iter__(self): return self
def __next__(self):
if self.i<self.n: val=self.i**2; self.i+=1; return val
raise StopIteration
Q13. What are advantages of iterators?
Ans: Memory efficiency, lazy evaluation, infinite sequences possible.
Q14. What is itertools module?
Ans: A standard library providing advanced iterator building blocks like count, cycle, chain, islice.
Q15. What is itertools.count?
Ans: An infinite iterator yielding consecutive integers: itertools.count(start=0, step=1).
Q16. What is itertools.cycle?
Ans: Repeats elements of an iterable indefinitely.
Q17. What is itertools.islice?
Ans: Slices an iterator: islice(iterable, start, stop, step).
Q18. What is itertools.chain?
Ans: Chains multiple iterables into a single iterator.
Q19. What is the difference between iter() and __iter__()?
Ans: iter(obj) calls obj.__iter__() under the hood.
Q20. Why are iterators important in Python?
Ans: They unify iteration, enable lazy evaluation, and support efficient looping in large/streaming data.
Generators
Q21. What is a generator in Python?
Ans: A generator is a function that yields values one at a time using 'yield', producing an iterator automatically.
Q22. How is a generator different from a normal function?
Ans: Normal function uses return and ends; generator uses yield and resumes state on next call.
Q23. What does 'yield' keyword do?
Ans: It pauses the function, returns a value, and can resume from that point later.
Q24. What is a generator expression?
Ans: A concise way to create generators, like (x*x for x in range(5)).
Q25. What is the difference between list comprehension and generator expression?
Ans: List comprehension builds list in memory; generator expression produces values lazily.
Q26. How to create a simple generator?
Ans: def gen():
yield 1
yield 2
yield 3
Q27. What happens when generator is exhausted?
Ans: Further calls raise StopIteration.
Q28. How do you get values from a generator?
Ans: Use next(gen) or iterate with for loop.
Q29. Can a generator be reused?
Ans: No, once exhausted it cannot be restarted. Must call function again to get new generator.
Q30. What is the advantage of generators?
Ans: Memory efficient, fast, suitable for large datasets or infinite sequences.
Q31. What is send() in generators?
Ans: Allows sending a value back into generator to replace yield expression result.
Q32. What is throw() in generators?
Ans: Raises an exception inside the generator at the yield point.
Q33. What is close() in generators?
Ans: Terminates the generator, raising GeneratorExit inside.
Q34. What are generator pipelines?
Ans: Combining multiple generators to process data in stages.
Q35. Give example of generator for Fibonacci numbers.
Ans: def fib(n):
a,b=0,1
for _ in range(n):
yield a
a,b=b,a+b
Q36. What is difference between generator function and generator object?
Ans: Generator function contains yield and returns generator object when called. Generator object is the iterator
produced.
Q37. How are generators implemented internally?
Ans: They use frames and state machines to preserve local variables across yields.
Q38. Can generators be infinite?
Ans: Yes, e.g., def count(): i=0; while True: yield i; i+=1.
Q39. What is yield from in Python?
Ans: Delegates part of a generator to another generator or iterable, simplifying composition.
Q40. What are practical applications of generators?
Ans: Reading large files line by line, streaming data, pipelines, producer-consumer problems.
