Top 50+ Python Interview Questions and Answers

(Latest 2025)
Last Updated : 16 Jan, 2025

Python is the most used language in top companies such as Intel, IBM,
NASA, Pixar, Netflix, Facebook, JP Morgan Chase, Spotify, and many more
because of its robust performance and powerful libraries. To get into these
companies and organizations as a Python developer, we need to master
some important Python Interview Questions to crack their Python Online
Assessment Round and Python Interview Round. We have prepared a list of
the Top 50 Python Interview Questions along with their answers to ace
interviews.

Python Interview Questions for Freshers

1. What is Python? List some popular applications of Python in the

world of technology.

Python is a widely-used general-purpose, high-level programming language.

It was created by Guido van Rossum in 1991 and further developed by the
Python Software Foundation. Python is known for its simple, readable syntax
and allows programmers to express their concepts in fewer lines of code.
It is used for:

Data science & machine learning (with libraries like Pandas, NumPy, and
TensorFlow)
Web development (using frameworks like Django and Flask)
Automation & scripting
Artificial Intelligence & Deep Learning
Data analysis & visualization
Game development
Software development

2. What are the benefits of using Python language as a tool in the

present scenario?
 The following are the benefits of using Python language:

Object-Oriented Language
High-Level Language
Dynamically Typed language
Extensive support for Machine Learning Libraries
Presence of third-party modules
Open source and community development
Portable and Interactive
Cross-Platform

3. Is Python a compiled language or an interpreted language?

Most of us may be surprised to know that python is actually both a compiled

and interpreted language., when Python code is executed, it is first compiled
into bytecode and then bytecode is interpreted by the Python Virtual
Machine (PVM) on the underlying platform (machine + operating system).
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4. What is a dynamically typed language?

Typed languages are the languages in which we define the type of data type
and it will be known by the machine at the compile-time or at runtime. Typed
languages can be classified into two categories:

Statically typed languages: In this type of language, the data type of a

variable is known at the compile time which means the programmer has
to specify the data type of a variable at the time of its declaration.
Dynamically typed languages: These are the languages that do not
require any pre-defined data type for any variable as it is interpreted at
runtime by the machine itself. In these languages, interpreters assign the
data type to a variable at runtime depending on its value.

5. What does the ‘#’ symbol do in Python?

‘#’ is used to comment on everything that comes after on the line.

6. What is the difference between a Mutable datatype and an

Immutable data type?
 Mutable data types can be edited i.e., they can change at runtime. Eg –
List, Dictionary, etc.
Immutable data types can not be edited i.e., they can not change at
runtime. Eg – String, Tuple, etc.

7. How are arguments passed by value or by reference in Python?

In Python, arguments are passed by object reference (also called “pass by

assignment”). This means that functions receive references to the same
objects:

Mutable objects (like lists or dictionaries) can be modified within the

function.
Immutable objects (like integers or strings) cannot be changed and
reassigning them inside the function doesn’t affect the original object.

8. What is the difference between a Set and Dictionary?

The set is unordered collection of unique items that is iterable and mutable.
A dictionary in Python is an ordered collection of data values, used to store
data values like a map.

9. What is List Comprehension? Give an Example.

List comprehension is a syntax construction to ease the creation of a list

based on existing iterable.

For Example:

1 li = [i for i in range(1, 10)]

10. How is a dictionary different from a list?

A list is an ordered collection of items accessed by their index, while a

dictionary is an unordered collection of key-value pairs accessed using
unique keys. Lists are ideal for sequential data, whereas dictionaries are
better for associative data. For example, a list can store [10, 20, 30], whereas
a dictionary can store {“a”: 10, “b”: 20, “c”: 30}.
11. What is a pass in Python?

Pass means performing no operation or in other words, it is a placeholder in

the compound statement, where there should be a blank left and nothing has
to be written there.

12. What is the difference between / and // in Python?

/ represents precise division (result is a floating point number) whereas //

represents floor division (result is an integer). For Example:

5//2 = 2

5/2 = 2.5

13. How is Exceptional handling done in Python?

There are 3 main keywords i.e. try, except, and finally which are used to
catch exceptions and handle the recovering mechanism accordingly. Try is
the block of a code that is monitored for errors. Except block gets executed
when an error occurs.

The beauty of the final block is to execute the code after trying for an error.
This block gets executed irrespective of whether an error occurred or not.
Finally, block is used to do the required cleanup activities of
objects/variables.

14. What is a lambda function?

A lambda function is an anonymous function. This function can have any

number of parameters but, can have just one statement. For Example:

1 a = lambda x, y : x*y
2 print(a(7, 19))

15. Difference between for loop and while loop in Python

The “for” Loop is generally used to iterate through the elements of various
collection types such as List, Tuple, Set, and Dictionary. Developers use a
“for” loop where they have both the conditions start and the end. Whereas,
the “while” loop is the actual looping feature that is used in any other
programming language. Programmers use a Python while loop where they
just have the end conditions.

16. Can we Pass a function as an argument in Python?

Yes, Several arguments can be passed to a function, including objects,

variables (of the same or distinct data types), and functions. Functions can be
passed as parameters to other functions because they are objects. Higher-
order functions are functions that can take other functions as arguments.

To read more, refer to the article: Passing function as an argument in Python

17. What are *args and **kwargs?

To pass a variable number of arguments to a function in Python, use the

special syntax *args and **kwargs in the function specification. Both are to
send a variable-length argument list. The syntax *args is used to pass a non-
keyworded, variable-length argument list.

18. Is Indentation Required in Python?

Yes, indentation is required in Python. A Python interpreter can be informed

that a group of statements belongs to a specific block of code by using
Python indentation. Indentations make the code easy to read for developers
in all programming languages but in Python, it is very important to indent
the code in a specific order.

19. What is a Variable Scope in Python?

The location where we can find a variable and also access it if required is
called the scope of a variable.

Python Local variable: Local variables are those that are initialized within
a function and are unique to that function. It cannot be accessed outside of
the function.
Python Global variables: Global variables are the ones that are defined
and declared outside any function and are not specified to any function.
 Module-level scope: It refers to the global objects of the current module
accessible in the program.
Outermost scope: It refers to any built-in names that the program can
call. The name referenced is located last among the objects in this scope.

20. What is docstring in Python?

Python documentation strings (or docstrings) provide a convenient way of

associating documentation with Python modules, functions, classes, and
methods.

Declaring Docstrings: The docstrings are declared using ”’triple single

quotes”’ or “””triple double quotes””” just below the class, method, or
function declaration. All functions should have a docstring.
Accessing Docstrings: The docstrings can be accessed using the __doc__
method of the object or using the help function.

21. What is a break, continue, and pass in Python?

break statement is used to terminate the loop or statement in which it is

present. After that, the control will pass to the statements that are
present after the break statement, if available.
Continue is also a loop control statement just like the break statement.
continue statement is opposite to that of the break statement, instead of
terminating the loop, it forces to execute the next iteration of the loop.
Pass means performing no operation or in other words, it is a placeholder
in the compound statement, where there should be a blank left and
nothing has to be written there.

22. What are Built-in data types in Python?

The following are the standard or built-in data types in Python:

Numeric: The numeric data type in Python represents the data that has a
numeric value. A numeric value can be an integer, a floating number, a
Boolean, or even a complex number.
Sequence Type: The sequence Data Type in Python is the ordered
collection of similar or different data types. There are several sequence
types in Python:
Python String
Python List
 Python Tuple
Python range
Mapping Types: In Python, hashable data can be mapped to random
objects using a mapping object. There is currently only one common
mapping type, the dictionary, and mapping objects are mutable.
Python Dictionary
Set Types: In Python, a Set is an unordered collection of data types that is
iterable, mutable, and has no duplicate elements. The order of elements in
a set is undefined though it may consist of various elements.

23. How do you floor a number in Python?

The Python math module includes a method that can be used to calculate
the floor of a number.

floor() method in Python returns the floor of x i.e., the largest integer not
greater than x.
Also, The method ceil(x) in Python returns a ceiling value of x i.e., the
smallest integer greater than or equal to x.

Intermediate Python Interview Questions

24. What is the difference between xrange and range functions?

range() and xrange() are two functions that could be used to iterate a certain
number of times in for loops in Python.

In Python 3, there is no xrange, but the range function behaves like

xrange.
In Python 2
range() – This returns a range object, which is an immutable
sequence type that generates the numbers on demand.
xrange() – This function returns the generator object that can be
used to display numbers only by looping. The only particular
range is displayed on demand and hence called lazy evaluation.

25. What is Dictionary Comprehension? Give an Example

Dictionary Comprehension is a syntax construction to ease the creation of a

dictionary based on the existing iterable.
For Example: my_dict = {i:i+7 for i in range(1, 10)}

26. Is Tuple Comprehension? If yes, how, and if not why?

(i for i in (1, 2, 3))

Tuple comprehension is not possible in Python because it will end up in a

generator, not a tuple comprehension.

27. Differentiate between List and Tuple?

Let’s analyze the differences between List and Tuple:

List

Lists are Mutable datatype.

Lists consume more memory
The list is better for performing operations, such as insertion and deletion.
The implication of iterations is Time-consuming

Tuple

Tuples are Immutable datatype.

Tuple consumes less memory as compared to the list
A Tuple data type is appropriate for accessing the elements
The implication of iterations is comparatively Faster

28. What is the difference between a shallow copy and a deep

copy?
Shallow copy is used when a new instance type gets created and it keeps
values that are copied whereas deep copy stores values that are already
copied.

A shallow copy has faster program execution whereas a deep copy makes it
slow.

29. Which sorting technique is used by sort() and sorted()

functions of python?

Python uses the Tim Sort algorithm for sorting. It’s a stable sorting whose
worst case is O(N log N). It’s a hybrid sorting algorithm, derived from merge
sort and insertion sort, designed to perform well on many kinds of real-
world data.

30. What are Decorators?

Decorators are a very powerful and useful tool in Python as they are the
specific change that we make in Python syntax to alter functions easily.

31. How do you debug a Python program?

By using this command we can debug a Python program:

python -m pdb python-script.py

32. What are Iterators in Python?

In Python, iterators are used to iterate a group of elements, containers like a

list. Iterators are collections of items, and they can be a list, tuples, or a
dictionary. Python iterator implements __itr__ and the next() method to
iterate the stored elements. We generally use loops to iterate over the
collections (list, tuple) in Python.

33. What are Generators 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 implement __itr__ and __next__ method and reduces 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
resumes from the same when required.

34. Does Python supports multiple Inheritance?

Python does support multiple inheritances, unlike Java. Multiple inheritances

mean that a class can be derived from more than one parent class.

35. What is Polymorphism in Python?

Polymorphism means the ability to take multiple forms. Polymorphism

allows different classes to be treated as if they are instances of the same
class through a common interface. This means that a method in a parent
class can be overridden by a method with the same name in a child class, but
the child class can provide its own specific implementation. This allows the
same method to operate differently depending on the object that invokes it.
Polymorphism is about overriding, not overloading; it enables methods to
operate on objects of different classes, which can have their own attributes
and methods, providing flexibility and reusability in the code.

36. Define encapsulation in Python?

Encapsulation means binding the code and the data together. A Python class
is an example of encapsulation.

37. How do you do data abstraction in Python?

Data Abstraction is providing only the required details and hides the
implementation from the world. It can be achieved in Python by using
interfaces and abstract classes.

38. How is memory management done in Python?

Python uses its private heap space to manage the memory. Basically, all the
objects and data structures are stored in the private heap space. Even the
programmer can not access this private space as the interpreter takes care of
this space. Python also has an inbuilt garbage collector, which recycles all
the unused memory and frees the memory and makes it available to the
heap space.
39. How to delete a file using Python?

We can delete a file using Python by following approaches:

os.remove()
os.unlink()

40. What is slicing in Python?

Python Slicing is a string operation for extracting a part of the string, or some
part of a list. With this operator, one can specify where to start the slicing,
where to end, and specify the step. List slicing returns a new list from the
existing list.

Syntax: Lst[ Initial : End : IndexJump ]

41. What is a namespace in Python?

A namespace is a naming system used to make sure that names are unique
to avoid naming conflicts.

Advanced Python Interview Questions & Answers

42. What is PIP?

PIP is an acronym for Python Installer Package which provides a seamless

interface to install various Python modules. It is a command-line tool that
can search for packages over the internet and install them without any user
interaction.

43. What is a zip function?

Python zip() function returns a zip object, which maps a similar index of
multiple containers. It takes an iterable, converts it into an iterator and
aggregates the elements based on iterables passed. It returns an iterator of
tuples.

44. What are Pickling and Unpickling?

Pickle module accepts any Python object and converts it into a string
representation and dumps it into a file by using the dump function, this
process is called pickling. While the process of retrieving original Python
objects from the stored string representation is called unpickling.

45. What is the difference between @classmethod, @staticmethod, and

instance methods in Python?

1. Instance Method operates on an instance of the class and has access to

instance attributes and takes self as the first parameter. Example:

def method(self):

2. Class Method directly operates on the class itself and not on instance, it
takes cls as the first parameter. and defined with @classmethod.

Example: @classmethod def method(cls):

3. Static Method does not operate on an instance or the class and takes no
self or cls as an argument and is defined with @staticmethod.

Example: @staticmethod def method(): align it and dont bolod

anything and not bullet points

46. What is __init__() in Python and how does self play a role in it?

__init__() method in Python is equivalent to constructors in OOP terminology.

It is a reserved method in Python classes and is called automatically
whenever a new object is instantiated. This method is used to initialize the
object’s attributes with values. While __init__() initializes the object, it does
not allocate memory. Memory allocation for a new object is handled by the
__new__() method, which is called before __init__(). The self parameter in
__init__() refers to the instance of the class being created as it allows access
to the instance’s attributes and methods. self must be explicitly declared as
the first parameter in all instance methods, including __init__().

1 class MyClass:
2 def __init__(self, value):
 self.value = value # Initialize object
attribute
4
5 def display(self):
6 print(f"Value: {self.value}")
7
8 obj = MyClass(10)
9 obj.display()

47. Write a code to display the current time?

1 import time
2
3 currenttime= time.localtime(time.time())
4 print ("Current time is", currenttime)

48. What are Access Specifiers in Python?

Python uses the ‘_’ symbol to determine the access control for a specific data
member or a member function of a class. A Class in Python has three types
of Python access modifiers:

Public Access Modifier: The members of a class that are declared public
are easily accessible from any part of the program. All data members and
member functions of a class are public by default.
Protected Access Modifier: The members of a class that are declared
protected are only accessible to a class derived from it. All data members
of a class are declared protected by adding a single underscore ‘_’ symbol
before the data members of that class.
Private Access Modifier: The members of a class that are declared private
are accessible within the class only, the private access modifier is the
most secure access modifier. Data members of a class are declared private
by adding a double underscore ‘__’ symbol before the data member of that
class.

49. What are unit tests in Python?

Unit Testing is the first level of software testing where the smallest testable
parts of the software are tested. This is used to validate that each unit of the
software performs as designed. The unit test framework is Python’s xUnit
style framework. The White Box Testing method is used for Unit testing.

50. Python Global Interpreter Lock (GIL)?

Python Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) is a type of process lock that is used by
Python whenever it deals with processes. Generally, Python only uses only
one thread to execute the set of written statements. The performance of the
single-threaded process and the multi-threaded process will be the same in
Python and this is because of GIL in Python. We can not achieve
multithreading in Python because we have a global interpreter lock that
restricts the threads and works as a single thread.

51. What are Function Annotations in Python?

Function Annotation is a feature that allows you to add metadata to function

parameters and return values. This way you can specify the input type of the
function parameters and the return type of the value the function returns.

Function annotations are arbitrary Python expressions that are associated

with various parts of functions. These expressions are evaluated at compile
time and have no life in Python’s runtime environment. Python does not
attach any meaning to these annotations. They take life when interpreted by
third-party libraries, for example, mypy.

52. What are Exception Groups in Python?

The latest feature of Python 3.11, Exception Groups. The ExceptionGroup

can be handled using a new except* syntax. The * symbol indicates that
multiple exceptions can be handled by each except* clause.

ExceptionGroup is a collection/group of different kinds of Exception. Without

creating Multiple Exceptions we can group together different Exceptions
which we can later fetch one by one whenever necessary, the order in which
the Exceptions are stored in the Exception Group doesn’t matter while calling
them.

try:
raise ExceptionGroup('Example ExceptionGroup', (
 TypeError('Example TypeError'),
ValueError('Example ValueError'),
KeyError('Example KeyError'),
AttributeError('Example AttributeError')
))
except* TypeError:
...
except* ValueError as e:
...
except* (KeyError, AttributeError) as e:
...

53. What is Python Switch Statement

From version 3.10 upward, Python has implemented a switch case feature
called “structural pattern matching”. You can implement this feature with the
match and case keywords. Note that the underscore symbol is what you use
to define a default case for the switch statement in Python.

Note: Before Python 3.10 Python doesn’t support match Statements.

match term:
case pattern-1:
action-1
case pattern-2:
action-2
case pattern-3:
action-3
case _:
action-default

54. What is Walrus Operator?

Walrus Operator allows you to assign a value to a variable within an

expression. This can be useful when you need to use a value multiple times
in a loop, but don’t want to repeat the calculation.

Walrus Operator is represented by the `:=` syntax and can be used in a

variety of contexts including while loops and if statements.

Note: Python versions before 3.8 doesn’t support Walrus Operator.

1 names = ["Jacob", "Joe", "Jim"]

2
3 if (name := input("Enter a name: ")) in names:
 print(f"Hello, {name}!")
5 else:
6 print("Name not found.")

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