PYTHON INTERVIEW QUESTION

Prof Ayushi Arzare

Mtech (hons) CSE
5-years – Teaching Experience
2-years – Industry Experience
1. What is Python?

Python was created by Guido van Rossum, and released in 1991.

 It is a general-purpose computer programming language.

 It is a high-level, object-oriented language which can run equally on different

platforms such as Windows, Linux, UNIX, and Macintosh.
 It is widely used in data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence domain.

 It is easy to learn and require less code to develop the applications.

It is widely used for:

➢ Web development (server-side).

➢ Software development.

➢ Mathematics.

➢ System scripting.
2. Why Python?

 Python is compatible with different platforms like Windows, Mac, Linux,

Raspberry Pi, etc.
 Python has a simple syntax as compared to other languages.
 Python allows a developer to write programs with fewer lines than some other
programming languages.
 Python runs on an interpreter system, means that the code can be executed as soon
as it is written. It helps to provide a prototype very quickly.
 Python can be described as a procedural way, an object-orientated way or a
functional way.
3. What are the applications of Python?

 Python is used in various software domains some application areas are given below.
 Web and Internet Development
 Games
 Scientific and computational applications
 Language development
 Image processing and graphic design applications
 Enterprise and business applications development
 Operating systems
 GUI based desktop applications
 Python provides various web frameworks to develop web applications. The
popular python web frameworks are Django, Pyramid, Flask.
 Python's standard library supports for E-mail processing, FTP, IMAP, and
other Internet protocols.
 Python's SciPy and NumPy helps in scientific and computational
application development.
 Python's Tkinter library supports to create a desktop based GUI
applications.
4. What are the advantages of Python?

 Interpreted
 Free and open source
 Extensible
 Object-oriented
 Built-in data structure
 Readability
 High-Level Language
 Cross-platform
Interpreted: Python is an interpreted language. It does not require prior compilation
of code and executes instructions directly.
 Free and open source: It is an open source project which is publicly available to
reuse. It can be downloaded free of cost.

 Portable: Python programs can run on cross platforms without affecting its
performance.
 Extensible: It is very flexible and extensible with any module.
 Object-oriented: Python allows to implement the Object Oriented concepts to build
application solution.
 Built-in data structure: Tuple, List, and Dictionary are useful integrated data
structures provided by the language.
5. What is PEP 8?

 PEP 8 is defined as a document that helps us to provide the

guidelines on how to write the Python code. It was written
by Guido van Rossum, Barry Warsaw and Nick Coghlan in
2001.
 It stands for Python Enhancement Proposal, and its major
task is to improve the readability and consistency of python
code
6. What do you mean by Python literals?

 Literals can be defined as a data which is given in a variable or constant. Python

supports the following literals:
 String Literals
 String literals are formed by enclosing text in the single or double quotes. For
example, string literals are string values.
 E.g.: "Aman", '12345'.
 Numeric Literals
 Python supports three types of numeric literals integer, float and complex. See the
examples.
 # Integer literal
 a = 10
 #Float Literal
 b = 12.3
 #Complex Literal
 x = 3.14j
 Boolean Literals
 Boolean literals are used to denote boolean values. It contains either True or False.
 # Boolean literal
 isboolean = True
7. Explain Python Functions?

 A function is a section of the program or a block of code that is written once and can
be executed whenever required in the program. A function is a block of self-
contained statements which has a valid name, parameters list, and body. Functions
make programming more functional and modular to perform modular tasks. Python
provides several built-in functions to complete tasks and also allows a user to create
new functions as well.
 There are two types of functions:
 Built-In Functions: copy(), len(), count() are the some built-in functions.
 User-defined Functions: Functions which are defined by a user known as user-
defined functions.
 Example: A general syntax of user defined function is given below.
 def function_name(parameters list):
 #--- statements---
 return a_value
8. What is zip() function in Python?

 Python zip() function returns a zip object, which maps a similar index of multiple
containers. It takes an iterable, convert into iterator and aggregates the elements
based on iterables passed. It returns an iterator of tuples.
 Signature
 zip(iterator1, iterator2, iterator3 ...)
 Parameters
 iterator1, iterator2, iterator3: These are iterator objects that are joined together.
 Return
 It returns an iterator from two or more iterators.
9. What is Python's parameter passing mechanism?

 There are two parameters passing mechanism in Python:

 Pass by references
 Pass by value
 By default, all the parameters (arguments) are passed "by reference" to the
functions. Thus, if you change the value of the parameter within a function, the
change is reflected in the calling function as well. It indicates the original variable.
For example, if a variable is declared as a = 10, and passed to a function where it?s
value is modified to a = 20. Both the variables denote to the same value.
 The pass by value is that whenever we pass the arguments to the function only
values pass to the function, no reference passes to the function. It makes it
immutable that means not changeable. Both variables hold the different values, and
original value persists even after modifying in the function.
 Python has a default argument concept which helps to call a method using an
arbitrary number of arguments.
10. How to overload constructors or methods in Python?

 Python's constructor: _init__ () is the first method of a class. Whenever we try to

instantiate an object __init__() is automatically invoked by python to initialize
members of an object. We can't overload constructors or methods in Python. It
shows an error if we try to overload.
 class student:
 def __init__(self,name):
 self.name = name
 def __init__(self, name, email):
 self.name = name
 self.email = email
 # This line will generate an error
 #st = student(“ayushi")
 # This line will call the second constructor
 st = student(“ayushi", “ayushi@gmail.com")
 print(st.name)
 Output:
 ayushi
11. What is the difference between remove() function and del statement?

 You can use the remove() function to delete a specific object in the list.
 If you want to delete an object at a specific location (index) in the list, you can either
use del or pop.
 We cannot use these methods with a tuple because the tuple is different from the list.
12. What is swapcase() function in the Python?

 It is a string's function which converts all uppercase characters into lowercase and
vice versa. It is used to alter the existing case of the string. This method creates a
copy of the string which contains all the characters in the swap case. If the string is
in lowercase, it generates a small case string and vice versa. It automatically ignores
all the non-alphabetic characters. See an example below.
 string = "IT IS IN LOWERCASE."
 print(string.swapcase())

 string = "it is in uppercase."
 print(string.swapcase())
 it is in lowercase.
 IT IS IN UPPERCASE.
13.How to remove whitespaces from a string in Python?

 To remove the whitespaces and trailing spaces from the string, Python providies
strip([str]) built-in function. This function returns a copy of the string after removing
whitespaces if present. Otherwise returns original string.
 string = "javatpoint"
 string2 = "javatpoint"
 string3 = "javatpoint"
 print(string)
 print(string2)
 print(string3)
 print("After stripping all have placed in a sequence:")
 print(string.strip())
 print(string2.strip())
 print(string3.strip())
 javatpoint
 javatpoint
 javatpoint
 After stripping all have placed in a sequence:
 javatpoint
 javatpoint
 javatpoint
14. How to remove leading whitespaces from a string in the Python?

 To remove leading characters from a string, we can use lstrip() function. It is Python
string function which takes an optional char type parameter. If a parameter is
provided, it removes the character. Otherwise, it removes all the leading spaces from
the string.
 string = " javatpoint "
 string2 = " javatpoint "
 print(string)
 print(string2)
 print("After stripping all leading whitespaces:")
 print(string.lstrip())
 print(string2.lstrip())
 javatpoint
 javatpoint
 After stripping all leading whitespaces:
 javatpoint
 javatpoint
15. Why do we use join() function in Python?

 The join() is defined as a string method which returns a string value. It is

concatenated with the elements of an iterable. It provides a flexible way to
concatenate the strings. See an example below.
 str = "Rohan"
 str2 = "ab"
 # Calling function
 str2 = str.join(str2)
 # Displaying result
 print(str2)
 Output:
 aRohanb
16. Give an example of shuffle() method?

 This method shuffles the given string or an array. It randomizes the items in the
array. This method is present in the random module. So, we need to import it and
then we can call the function. It shuffles elements each time when the function calls
and produces different output.
 import random

 list = [12,25,15,65,58,14,5,];
 print(list)
 random.shuffle(list)
 print ("Reshuffled list : \n", list)
 [12, 25, 15, 65, 58, 14, 5]
 Reshuffled list :
 [58, 15, 5, 65, 12, 14, 25]
 It is used to terminate the execution of the current loop. Break always breaks the
current execution and transfer control to outside the current block. If the block is in
a loop, it exits from the loop, and if the break is in a nested loop, it exits from the
innermost loop.
 even = [2,4,6,8,10,11,12,14]
 odd = 0
 for val in even:
 if val%2!=0:
 odd = val
 break
 print(val)
 print("odd value found",odd)
 2
 4
 6
 8
 10
 odd value found 11
17. What is tuple in Python?

 A tuple is a built-in data collection type. It allows us to store values in a sequence. It

is immutable, so no change is reflected in the original data. It uses () brackets rather
than [] square brackets to create a tuple. We cannot remove any element but can find
in the tuple. We can use indexing to get elements. It also allows traversing elements
in reverse order by using negative indexing. Tuple supports various methods like
max(), sum(), sorted(), Len() etc.
 To create a tuple, we can declare it as below.
 # Declaring tuple
 tup = (2,4,6,8)
 # Displaying value
 print(tup)

 # Displaying Single value
 print(tup[2])
 (2, 4, 6, 8)
 6
It is immutable. So updating tuple will lead to
an error.
# Declaring tuple
tup = (2,4,6,8)
# Displaying value
print(tup)

# Displaying Single value

print(tup[2])

# Updating by assigning new value

tup[2]=22
# Displaying Single value
print(tup[2])
tup[2]=22
TypeError: 'tuple' object does not support item
assignment
(2, 4, 6, 8)
18. Which are the file related libraries/modules in Python?

 The Python provides libraries/modules that enable you to manipulate text

files and binary files on the file system. It helps to create files, update their
contents, copy, and delete files. The libraries are os, os.path, and shutil.
 Here, os and os.path - modules include a function for accessing the
filesystem
 while shutil - module enables you to copy and delete the files.
19. What are the different file processing modes supported by Python?

 Python provides three modes to open files. The read-only, write-only, read-write and
append mode. 'r' is used to open a file in read-only mode, 'w' is used to open a file in
write-only mode, 'rw' is used to open in reading and write mode, 'a' is used to open a
file in append mode. If the mode is not specified, by default file opens in read-only
mode.
 Read-only mode : Open a file for reading. It is the default mode.
 Write-only mode: Open a file for writing. If the file contains data, data would be
lost. Other a new file is created.
 Read-Write mode: Open a file for reading, write mode. It means updating mode.
 Append mode: Open for writing, append to the end of the file, if the file exists.
20. What is an operator in Python?

 An operator is a particular symbol which is used on some values and produces an

output as a result. An operator works on operands. Operands are numeric literals or
variables which hold some values. Operators can be unary, binary or ternary. An
operator which require a single operand known as a unary operator, which require
two operands known as a binary operator and which require three operands is called
ternary operator.
 For example:
 -a # Unary
 3 + 2 = 5 # Binary
 Here, "+" and "=" are operators.
 a, b = 2,5
 # Assign minimum value using ternary operator
 min = a if a < b else b
 print(min)
 Arithmetic operators perform basic arithmetic operations. For example "+" is used to add and
"?" is used for subtraction.
 # Adding two values
 print(12+23)
 # Subtracting two values
 print(12-23)
 # Multiplying two values
 print(12*23)
 # Dividing two values
 print(12/23)
 Relational Operators are used to comparing the values. These operators test the conditions
and then returns a boolean value either True or False.
 # Examples of Relational Operators
 a, b = 10, 12
 print(a==b) # False
 print(a<b) # True
 print(a<=b) # True
 print(a!=b) # True
 Assignment operators are used to assigning values to the variables. See the examples below.
 # Examples of Assignment operators
 a=12
 print(a) # 12
 a += 2
 print(a) # 14
 a -= 2
 print(a) # 12
 a *=2
 print(a) # 24
 a **=2
 print(a) # 576
 Logical operators are used to performing logical operations like And, Or, and Not. See the example below.
 # Logical operator examples
 a = True
 b = False
 print(a and b) # False
 print(a or b) # True
 print(not b) # True
 Membership operators are used to checking whether an element is a
member of the sequence (list, dictionary, tuples) or not. Python uses two
membership operators in and not in operators to check element presence.
See an example.
 # Membership operators examples
 list = [2,4,6,7,3,4]
 print(5 in list) # False
 cities = ("india","delhi")
 print("tokyo" not in cities) #True
 Identity Operators (is and is not) both are used to check two values or
variable which are located on the same part of the memory. Two variables
that are equal does not imply that they are identical. See the following
examples.
 # Identity operator example
 a = 10
 b = 12
 print(a is b) # False
 print(a is not b) # True
21. How to create a Unicode string in Python?

 In Python 3, the old Unicode type has replaced by "str" type, and the string
is treated as Unicode by default. We can make a string in Unicode by using
art.title.encode("utf-8") function.
22. Is Python interpreted language?

 Python is an interpreted language. The Python language program runs directly from
the source code. It converts the source code into an intermediate language code,
which is again translated into machine language that has to be executed.
 Unlike Java or C, Python does not require compilation before execution.
23. How is memory managed in Python?

 Memory is managed in Python by the following way:

 The Python memory is managed by a Python private heap space. All the objects and
data structures are located in a private heap. The programmer does not have
permission to access this private heap.
 We can easily allocate heap space for Python objects by the Python memory
manager. The core API gives access of some tools to the programmer for coding
purpose.
 Python also has an inbuilt garbage collector, which recycle all the unused memory
and frees the memory for the heap space.
24. What is the Python decorator?

 Decorators are very powerful and a useful tool in Python that allows the
programmers to modify the behaviour of any class or function. It allows us to wrap
another function to extend the behaviour of the wrapped function, without
permanently modifying it.
 # Decorator example
 def decoratorfun():
 return another_fun
 Functions vs. Decorators
 A function is a block of code that performs a specific task whereas a decorator is a
function that modifies other functions .
25. What are the rules for a local and global variable in Python?

 In Python, variables that are only referenced inside a function are called implicitly
global. If a variable is assigned a new value anywhere within the function's body, it's
assumed to be a local. If a variable is ever assigned a new value inside the function,
the variable is implicitly local, and we need to declare it as 'global' explicitly. To
make a variable globally, we need to declare it by using global keyword. Local
variables are accessible within local body only. Global variables are accessible
anywhere in the program, and any function can access and modify its value.
26. What is the namespace in Python?

 The namespace is a fundamental idea to structure and organize the code that is
more useful in large projects. However, it could be a bit difficult concept to
grasp if you're new to programming. Hence, we tried to make namespaces just a
little easier to understand.
 A namespace is defined as a simple system to control the names in a program. It
ensures that names are unique and won't lead to any conflict.
 Also, Python implements namespaces in the form of dictionaries and maintains
name-to-object mapping where names act as keys and the objects as values.
27. What are iterators in Python?

 In Python, iterators are used to iterate a group of elements, containers like a list.
Iterators are the collection of items, and it can be a list, tuple, or a dictionary. Python
iterator implements __itr__ and next() method to iterate the stored elements. In
Python, we generally use loops to iterate over the collections (list, tuple).
28. What is a generator in Python?

 In Python, the generator is a way that specifies how to implement iterators. It is

a normal function except that it yields expression in the function. It does not
implements __itr__ and next() method and reduce other overheads as well.
 If a function contains at least a yield statement, it becomes a generator. The
yield keyword pauses the current execution by saving its states and then resume
from the same when required.
29. What is slicing in Python?

 Slicing is a mechanism used to select a range of items from sequence type like list,
tuple, and string. It is beneficial and easy to get elements from a range by using slice
way. It requires a : (colon) which separates the start and end index of the field. All
the data collection types List or tuple allows us to use slicing to fetch elements.
Although we can get elements by specifying an index, we get only single element
whereas using slicing we can get a group of elements.
30. What is a dictionary in Python?

 The Python dictionary is a built-in data type. It defines a one-to-one relationship

between keys and values. Dictionaries contain a pair of keys and their corresponding
values. It stores elements in key and value pairs. The keys are unique whereas values
can be duplicate. The key accesses the dictionary elements.
 Keys index dictionaries.
 Let's take an example.
 The following example contains some keys Country Hero & Cartoon. Their
corresponding values are India, Modi, and Rahul respectively.
 >>> dict = {'Country': 'India', 'Hero': 'Modi', 'Cartoon': 'Rahul'}
 >>>print dict[Country]
 India
 >>>print dict[Hero]
 Modi
 >>>print dict[Cartoon]
 Rahul
31. What is Pass in Python?

 Pass specifies a Python statement without operations. It is a placeholder in a

compound statement. If we want to create an empty class or functions, this pass
keyword helps to pass the control without error.
 # For Example
 class Student:
 pass # Passing class
 class Student:
 def info():

 pass # Passing function

32. Explain docstring in Python?

 The Python docstring is a string literal that occurs as the first statement in a module,
function, class, or method definition. It provides a convenient way to associate the
documentation.
 String literals occurring immediately after a simple assignment at the top are called
"attribute docstrings".
 String literals occurring immediately after another docstring are called "additional
docstrings".
 Python uses triple quotes to create docstrings even though the string fits on one line.
 Docstring phrase ends with a period (.) and can be multiple lines. It may consist of
spaces and other special chars.
 Example
 # One-line docstrings
 def hello():
 """A function to greet."""
 return "hello"
33. What is a negative index in Python?

 Python sequences are accessible using an index in positive and negative numbers.
For example, 0 is the first positive index, 1 is the second positive index and so on.
For negative indexes -1 is the last negative index, -2 is the second last negative
index and so on.
 Index traverses from left to right and increases by one until end of the list.
 Negative index traverse from right to left and iterate one by one till the start of the
list. A negative index is used to traverse the elements into reverse order.
34. What is pickling and unpickling in Python?

 The Python pickle is defined as a module which accepts any Python object and
converts it into a string representation. It dumps the Python object into a file using
the dump function; this process is called pickling.
 The process of retrieving the original Python objects from the stored string
representation is called as Unpickling.
35. What is the usage of help() and dir() function in Python?

 Help() and dir() both functions are accessible from the Python interpreter and
used for viewing a consolidated dump of built-in functions.
 Help() function: The help() function is used to display the documentation string
and also facilitates us to see the help related to modules, keywords, and
attributes.
 Dir() function: The dir() function is used to display the defined symbols.
36. How can we make forms in Python?

 You have to import CGI module to access form fields using FieldStorage class.
 Attributes of class FieldStorage for the form:
 form.name: The name of the field, if specified.
 form.filename: If an FTP transaction, the client-side filename.
 form.value: The value of the field as a string.
 form.file: file object from which data read.
 form.type: The content type, if applicable.
 form.type_options: The options of the 'content-type' line of the HTTP request, returned as a dictionary.
 form.disposition: The field 'content-disposition'; None, if unspecified.
 form.disposition_options: The options for 'content-disposition'.
 form.headers: All of the HTTP headers returned as a dictionary.
 import cgi
 form = cgi.FieldStorage()
 if not (form.has_key("name") and form.has_key("age")):
 print "<H1>Name & Age not Entered</H1>"
 print "Fill the Name & Age accurately."
 return
 print "<p>name:", form["name"].value
 print "<p>Age:", form["age"].value
37. What are the differences between Python 2.x and Python 3.x?

 Python 2.x is an older version of Python. Python 3.x is newer and latest version.
Python 2.x is legacy now. Python 3.x is the present and future of this language.
 The most visible difference between Python2 and Python3 is in print statement
(function). In Python 2, it looks like print "Hello", and in Python 3, it is print
("Hello").
 String in Python2 is ASCII implicitly, and in Python3 it is Unicode.
 The xrange() method has removed from Python 3 version. A new keyword
as is introduced in Error handling.
38. How can you organize your code to make it easier to change the base
class?

 You have to define an alias for the base class, assign the real base class to it before
your class definition, and use the alias throughout your class. You can also use this
method if you want to decide dynamically (e.g., depending on availability of
resources) which base class to use.
 Example
 BaseAlias = <real base class>
 class Derived(BaseAlias):
 def meth(self):
 BaseAlias.meth(self)
39. How Python does Compile-time and Run-time code checking?

 In Python, some amount of coding is done at compile time, but most of the checking
such as type, name, etc. are postponed until code execution. Consequently, if the
Python code references a user-defined function that does not exist, the code will
compile successfully. The Python code will fail only with an exception when the
code execution path doesnot exist.
40. What is the shortest method to open a text file and display its content?

 The shortest way to open a text file is by using "with" command in the following
manner:
 with open("file-name", "r") as fp:
 fileData = fp.read()
 #to print the contents of the file
 print(fileData)
41. What is the usage of enumerate () function in Python?

 The enumerate() function is used to iterate through the sequence and retrieve the
index position and its corresponding value at the same time.
 For i,v in enumerate(['Python','Java','C++']):
 print(i,v)
 0 Python
 1 Java
 2 C++
 # enumerate using an index sequence
 for count, item in enumerate(['Python','Java','C++'], 10):
 Give the output of this example: A[3] if A=[1,4,6,7,9,66,4,94].
 Since indexing starts from zero, an element present at 3rd index
is 7. So, the output is 7.
43. What will be the output of ['!!Welcome!!']*2?

 The output will be ['!!Welcome!! ', '!!Welcome!!']

44. What will be the output of data[-2] from the list data =
[1,5,8,6,9,3,4]?

 In the list, an element present at the 2nd index from the right is 3. So, the
output will be 3.
45. How to send an email in Python Language?

 To send an email, Python provides smtplib and email modules. Import these
modules into the created mail script and send mail by authenticating a user.
 It has a method SMTP(smtp-server, port). It requires two parameters to establish
SMTP connection.
 A simple example to send an email is given below.
 import smtplib
 # Calling SMTP
 s = smtplib.SMTP('smtp.gmail.com', 587)
 # TLS for network security
 s.starttls()
 # User email Authentication
 s.login("sender_email_id", "sender_email_id_password")
 # message to be sent
 message = "Message_you_need_to_send"
 # sending the mail
 s.sendmail("sender_email_id", "receiver_email_id", message)
 It will send an email to the receiver after authenticating sender username and
password.
46. What is the difference between list and tuple?

 The difference between list and tuple is that a list is mutable while tuple is
not.
47. What is lambda function in Python?

 The anonymous function in python is a function that is defined without a

name. The normal functions are defined using a keyword "def", whereas,
the anonymous functions are defined using the lambda function. The
anonymous functions are also called as lambda functions.
48. Why do lambda forms in Python not have the
statements?

 Because it is used to make the new function object and return them
in runtime.
How can you convert a number to string?

 We can use the inbuilt function str() to convert a number into a string. If
you want an octal or hexadecimal representation, we can use the oct() or
hex() inbuilt function.