Python Interview

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Dear readers, these Python Programming

Language Interview Questions have been
designed specially to get you acquainted with
the nature of questions you may encounter
during your interview for the subject of Python
Programming Language. As per my experience
good interviewers hardly plan to ask any
particular question during your interview,
normally questions start with some basic
concept of the subject and later they continue
based on further discussion and what you
answer −
 What is Python?

Python is a high-level, interpreted, interactive

and object-oriented scripting language. Python
is designed to be highly readable. It uses
English keywords frequently where as other
languages use punctuation, and it has fewer
syntactical constructions than other languages.

Name some of the features of

Python.

Following are some of the salient features of

python −

It supports functional and structured

programming methods as well as OOP.

It can be used as a scripting language or

can be compiled to byte-code for building
large applications.

It provides very high-level dynamic data

types and supports dynamic type
checking.

It supports automatic garbage collection.

It can be easily integrated with C, C++,

COM, ActiveX, CORBA, and Java.

What is the purpose of

PYTHONPATH environment
variable?

PYTHONPATH - It has a role similar to PATH.

This variable tells the Python interpreter where
to locate the module files imported into a
program. It should include the Python source
library directory and the directories containing
Python source code. PYTHONPATH is
sometimes preset by the Python installer.

What is the purpose of

PYTHONSTARTUP environment
variable?

PYTHONSTARTUP - It contains the path of an

initialization file containing Python source code.
It is executed every time you start the
interpreter. It is named as .pythonrc.py in Unix
and it contains commands that load utilities or
modify PYTHONPATH.

What is the purpose of

PYTHONCASEOK environment
variable?

PYTHONCASEOK − It is used in Windows to

instruct Python to find the first case-insensitive
match in an import statement. Set this variable
to any value to activate it.

What is the purpose of

PYTHONHOME environment
variable?

PYTHONHOME − It is an alternative module

search path. It is usually embedded in the
PYTHONSTARTUP or PYTHONPATH directories
to make switching module libraries easy.

Is python a case sensitive

language?
Yes! Python is a case sensitive programming
language.

What are the supported data types

in Python?

Python has five standard data types −

Numbers

String

List

Tuple

Dictionary

What is the output of print str if str

= 'Hello World!'?

It will print complete string. Output would be

Hello World!.

What is the output of print str[0] if

str = 'Hello World!'?

It will print first character of the string. Output

would be H.

What is the output of print str[2:5]

if str = 'Hello World!'?

It will print characters starting from 3rd to 5th.

Output would be llo.

What is the output of print str[2:] if

str = 'Hello World!'?
It will print characters starting from 3rd
character. Output would be llo World!.

What is the output of print str * 2 if

str = 'Hello World!'?

It will print string two times. Output would be

Hello World!Hello World!.

What is the output of print str +

"TEST" if str = 'Hello World!'?

It will print concatenated string. Output would

be Hello World!TEST.

What is the output of print list if

list = [ 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john', 70.2
]?

It will print complete list. Output would be

['abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.200000000000003].

What is the output of print list[0] if

list = [ 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john', 70.2
]?

It will print first element of the list. Output

would be abcd.

What is the output of print list[1:3]

if list = [ 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john',
70.2 ]?

It will print elements starting from 2nd till 3rd.

Output would be [786, 2.23].
 What is the output of print list[2:] if
list = [ 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john', 70.2
]?

It will print elements starting from 3rd element.

Output would be [2.23, 'john',
70.200000000000003].

What is the output of print tinylist

* 2 if tinylist = [123, 'john']?

It will print list two times. Output would be [123,

'john', 123, 'john'].

What is the output of print list1 +

list2, if list1 = [ 'abcd', 786 , 2.23,
'john', 70.2 ] and ist2 = [123, 'john']?

It will print concatenated lists. Output would be

['abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.2, 123, 'john']

What are tuples in Python?

A tuple is another sequence data type that is

similar to the list. A tuple consists of a number
of values separated by commas. Unlike lists,
however, tuples are enclosed within
parentheses.

What is the difference between

tuples and lists in Python?

The main differences between lists and tuples

are − Lists are enclosed in brackets ( [ ] ) and
their elements and size can be changed, while
tuples are enclosed in parentheses ( ( ) ) and
cannot be updated. Tuples can be thought of as
read-only lists.

What is the output of print tuple if

tuple = ( 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john',
70.2 )?

It will print complete tuple. Output would be

('abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john', 70.200000000000003).

What is the output of print tuple[0]

if tuple = ( 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john',
70.2 )?

It will print first element of the tuple. Output

would be abcd.

What is the output of print

tuple[1:3] if tuple = ( 'abcd', 786 ,
2.23, 'john', 70.2 )?

It will print elements starting from 2nd till 3rd.

Output would be (786, 2.23).

What is the output of print tuple[2:]

if tuple = ( 'abcd', 786 , 2.23, 'john',
70.2 )?

It will print elements starting from 3rd element.

Output would be (2.23, 'john',
70.200000000000003).

What is the output of print

tinytuple * 2 if tinytuple = (123,
 'john')?

It will print tuple two times. Output would be

(123, 'john', 123, 'john').

What is the output of print tuple +

tinytuple if tuple = ( 'abcd', 786 ,
2.23, 'john', 70.2 ) and tinytuple =
(123, 'john')?

It will print concatenated tuples. Output would

be ('abcd', 786, 2.23, 'john',
70.200000000000003, 123, 'john').

What are Python's dictionaries?

Python's dictionaries are kind of hash table

type. They work like associative arrays or
hashes found in Perl and consist of key-value
pairs. A dictionary key can be almost any
Python type, but are usually numbers or strings.
Values, on the other hand, can be any arbitrary
Python object.

How will you create a dictionary in

python?

Dictionaries are enclosed by curly braces ({ })

and values can be assigned and accessed
using square braces ([]).

dict = {}
dict['one'] = "This is one"

dict[2] = "This is two"

tinydict = {'name': 'john','code':673

 How will you get all the keys from
the dictionary?

Using dictionary.keys() function, we can get all

the keys from the dictionary object.

print dict.keys() # Prints all the

How will you get all the values

from the dictionary?

Using dictionary.values() function, we can get

all the values from the dictionary object.

print dict.values() # Prints all th

How will you convert a string to an

int in python?

int(x [,base]) - Converts x to an integer. base

specifies the base if x is a string.

How will you convert a string to a

long in python?

long(x [,base] ) - Converts x to a long integer.

base specifies the base if x is a string.

How will you convert a string to a

float in python?

float(x) − Converts x to a floating-point number.

 How will you convert a object to a
string in python?

str(x) − Converts object x to a string

representation.

How will you convert a object to a

regular expression in python?

repr(x) − Converts object x to an expression

string.

How will you convert a String to an

object in python?

eval(str) − Evaluates a string and returns an

object.

How will you convert a string to a

tuple in python?

tuple(s) − Converts s to a tuple.

How will you convert a string to a

list in python?

list(s) − Converts s to a list.

How will you convert a string to a

set in python?

set(s) − Converts s to a set.

How will you create a dictionary

using tuples in python?
dict(d) − Creates a dictionary. d must be a
sequence of (key,value) tuples.

How will you convert a string to a

frozen set in python?

frozenset(s) − Converts s to a frozen set.

How will you convert an integer to

a character in python?

chr(x) − Converts an integer to a character.

How will you convert an integer to

an unicode character in python?

unichr(x) − Converts an integer to a Unicode

character.

How will you convert a single

character to its integer value in
python?

ord(x) − Converts a single character to its

integer value.

How will you convert an integer to

hexadecimal string in python?

hex(x) − Converts an integer to a hexadecimal

string.

How will you convert an integer to

octal string in python?
oct(x) − Converts an integer to an octal string.

What is the purpose of **

operator?

** Exponent − Performs exponential (power)

calculation on operators. a**b = 10 to the power
20 if a = 10 and b = 20.

What is the purpose of //

operator?

// Floor Division − The division of operands

where the result is the quotient in which the
digits after the decimal point are removed.

What is the purpose of is

operator?

is − Evaluates to true if the variables on either

side of the operator point to the same object
and false otherwise. x is y, here is results in 1 if
id(x) equals id(y).

What is the purpose of not in

operator?

not in − Evaluates to true if it does not finds a

variable in the specified sequence and false
otherwise. x not in y, here not in results in a 1 if
x is not a member of sequence y.

What is the purpose break

statement in python?
break statement − Terminates the loop
statement and transfers execution to the
statement immediately following the loop.

What is the purpose continue

statement in python?

continue statement − Causes the loop to skip

the remainder of its body and immediately
retest its condition prior to reiterating.

What is the purpose pass

statement in python?

pass statement − The pass statement in Python

is used when a statement is required
syntactically but you do not want any command
or code to execute.

How can you pick a random item

from a list or tuple?

choice(seq) − Returns a random item from a

list, tuple, or string.

How can you pick a random item

from a range?

randrange ([start,] stop [,step]) − returns a

randomly selected element from range(start,
stop, step).

How can you get a random

number in python?
random() − returns a random float r, such that 0
is less than or equal to r and r is less than 1.

How will you set the starting value

in generating random numbers?

seed([x]) − Sets the integer starting value used

in generating random numbers. Call this
function before calling any other random
module function. Returns None.

How will you randomizes the

items of a list in place?

shuffle(lst) − Randomizes the items of a list in

place. Returns None.

How will you capitalizes first letter

of string?

capitalize() − Capitalizes first letter of string.

How will you check in a string that

all characters are alphanumeric?

isalnum() − Returns true if string has at least 1

character and all characters are alphanumeric
and false otherwise.

How will you check in a string that

all characters are digits?

isdigit() − Returns true if string contains only

digits and false otherwise.
 How will you check in a string that
all characters are in lowercase?

islower() − Returns true if string has at least 1

cased character and all cased characters are in
lowercase and false otherwise.

How will you check in a string that

all characters are numerics?

isnumeric() − Returns true if a unicode string

contains only numeric characters and false
otherwise.

How will you check in a string that

all characters are whitespaces?

isspace() − Returns true if string contains only

whitespace characters and false otherwise.

How will you check in a string that

it is properly titlecased?

istitle() − Returns true if string is properly

"titlecased" and false otherwise.

How will you check in a string that

all characters are in uppercase?

isupper() − Returns true if string has at least

one cased character and all cased characters
are in uppercase and false otherwise.

How will you merge elements in a

sequence?
join(seq) − Merges (concatenates) the string
representations of elements in sequence seq
into a string, with separator string.

How will you get the length of the

string?

len(string) − Returns the length of the string.

How will you get a space-padded

string with the original string left-
justified to a total of width
columns?

ljust(width[, fillchar]) − Returns a space-padded

string with the original string left-justified to a
total of width columns.

How will you convert a string to all

lowercase?

lower() − Converts all uppercase letters in string

to lowercase.

How will you remove all leading

whitespace in string?

lstrip() − Removes all leading whitespace in

string.

How will you get the max

alphabetical character from the
string?
max(str) − Returns the max alphabetical
character from the string str.

How will you get the min

alphabetical character from the
string?

min(str) − Returns the min alphabetical

character from the string str.

How will you replaces all

occurrences of old substring in
string with new string?

replace(old, new [, max]) − Replaces all

occurrences of old in string with new or at most
max occurrences if max given.

How will you remove all leading

and trailing whitespace in string?

strip([chars]) − Performs both lstrip() and

rstrip() on string.

How will you change case for all

letters in string?

swapcase() − Inverts case for all letters in

string.

How will you get titlecased version

of string?

title() − Returns "titlecased" version of string,

that is, all words begin with uppercase and the
rest are lowercase.
 How will you convert a string to all
uppercase?

upper() − Converts all lowercase letters in string

to uppercase.

How will you check in a string that

all characters are decimal?

isdecimal() − Returns true if a unicode string

contains only decimal characters and false
otherwise.

What is the difference between

del() and remove() methods of
list?

To remove a list element, you can use either the

del statement if you know exactly which
element(s) you are deleting or the remove()
method if you do not know.

What is the output of len([1, 2, 3])?

3.

What is the output of [1, 2, 3] + [4,

5, 6]?

[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]

What is the output of ['Hi!'] * 4?

['Hi!', 'Hi!', 'Hi!', 'Hi!']

 What is the output of 3 in [1, 2, 3]?

True

What is the output of for x in [1, 2,

3]: print x?

What is the output of L[2] if L =

[1,2,3]?

3, Offsets start at zero.

What is the output of L[-2] if L =

[1,2,3]?

1, Negative: count from the right.

What is the output of L[1:] if L =

[1,2,3]?

2, 3, Slicing fetches sections.

How will you compare two lists?

cmp(list1, list2) − Compares elements of both

lists.

How will you get the length of a

list?

len(list) − Gives the total length of the list.

 How will you get the max valued
item of a list?

max(list) − Returns item from the list with max

value.

How will you get the min valued

item of a list?

min(list) − Returns item from the list with min

value.

How will you get the index of an

object in a list?

list.index(obj) − Returns the lowest index in list

that obj appears.

How will you insert an object at

given index in a list?

list.insert(index, obj) − Inserts object obj into

list at offset index.

How will you remove last object

from a list?

list.pop(obj=list[-1]) − Removes and returns last

object or obj from list.

How will you remove an object

from a list?

list.remove(obj) − Removes object obj from list.

 How will you reverse a list?

list.reverse() − Reverses objects of list in place.

How will you sort a list?

list.sort([func]) − Sorts objects of list, use

compare func if given.

What is lambda function in

python?

‘lambda’ is a keyword in python which creates

an anonymous function. Lambda does not
contain block of statements. It does not contain
return statements.

What we call a function which is

incomplete version of a function?

Stub.

When a function is defined then

the system stores parameters and
local variables in an area of
memory. What this memory is
known as?

Stack.

A canvas can have a foreground

color? (Yes/No)

Yes.
 Is Python platform independent?

No

There are some modules and functions in

python that can only run on certain platforms.

Do you think Python has a

complier?

Yes

Yes it has a complier which works

automatically so we don’t notice the compiler of
python.

What are the applications of

Python?

Django (Web framework of Python).

2. Micro Frame work such as Flask and Bottle.

3. Plone and Django CMS for advanced content

Management.

What is the basic difference

between Python version 2 and
Python version 3?

Table below explains the difference between

Python version 2 and Python version 3.
S.No Section Python Python
Version2 Version3

1. Print
Print Python 3
Function
command needs
can be used parentheses
without to print any
parentheses. string. It will
raise error
without
parentheses.

2. Unicode
ASCII str() Unicode (utf-
types and 8) and it has
separate two byte
Unicode() classes −
but there is
Byte
no byte type Bytearray
code in S.
Python 2.

3. Exceptions
Python 2 Python 3
accepts both raises a
new and old SyntaxError in
notations of turn when we
syntax. don’t enclose
the exception
argument in
parentheses.

4. Comparing
It does not It raises
Unorderable
raise any ‘TypeError’ as
error. warning if we
try to
compare
unorderable
types.
 Which programming Language is
an implementation of Python
programming language designed
to run on Java Platform?

Jython

(Jython is successor of Jpython.)

Is there any double data type in

Python?

No

Is String in Python are immutable?

(Yes/No)

Yes.

Can True = False be possible in

Python?

No.

Which module of python is used to

apply the methods related to OS.?

OS.

When does a new block begin in

python?

A block begins when the line is intended by 4

spaces.
 Write a function in python which
detects whether the given two
strings are anagrams or not.

def check(a,b):
if(len(a)!=len(b)):
return False
else:
if(sorted(list(a)) == sorted(l
return True
else:
return False

Name the python Library used for

Machine learning.

Scikit-learn python Library used for Machine

learning

What does pass operation do?

Pass indicates that nothing is to be done i.e. it

signifies a no operation.

Name the tools which python uses

to find bugs (if any).

Pylint and pychecker.

Write a function to give the sum of

all the numbers in list?
Sample list − (100, 200, 300, 400, 0, 500)

Expected output − 1500

 Write a program in Python to
reverse a string without using
inbuilt function reverse string?

Program to reverse a string in given below −

def string_reverse(str1):

rev_str = ' '

index = len(str1) #defining index as
while(index>0):
rev_str = rev_str + str1[index-1]

index = index-1
return(rev_str)

print(string_reverse('1tniop'))

First we declare a variable to store the reverse

string. Then using while loop and indexing of
string (index is calculated by string length) we
reverse the string. While loop starts when index
is greater than zero. Index is reduced to value 1
each time. When index reaches zero we obtain
the reverse of string.

Write a program to test whether

the number is in the defined range
or not?

Program is −

def test_range(num):

if num in range(0, 101):

print(''%s is in range''%str(n
else:
print(''%s is not in range''%s

Output −
test_range(101)

101 is not in the range

To test any number in a particular range we

make use of the method ‘if..in’ and else
condition.

Write a program to calculate

number of upper case letters and
number of lower case letters?
Test on String: ''Tutorials POINT''

Program is −

def string_test(s):

a = { ''Lower_Case'':0 , ''Upper_Case
for ch in s: #for loop
if(ch.islower()): #if-elif-else co
a[''Lower_Case''] = a[''Lower_C
elif(ch.isupper()):
a[''Upper_Case''] = a [''Upper_
else:
pass

print(''String in testing is: '',s) #

print(''Number of Lower Case characte
print(''Number of Upper Case characte

Output −

string_test(''Tutorials POINT'')

String in testing is: Tutorials POINT

Number of Lower Case characters in String: 8

Number of Upper Case characters in String: 6

We make use of the methods .islower() and

.isupper(). We initialise the count for lower and
upper. Using if and else condition we calculate
total number of lower and upper case
characters.

What is Next?
Further you can go through your past
assignments you have done with the subject
and make sure you are able to speak
confidently on them. If you are fresher then
interviewer does not expect you will answer
very complex questions, rather you have to
make your basics concepts very strong.

Second it really doesn't matter much if you

could not answer few questions but it matters
that whatever you answered, you must have
answered with confidence. So just feel
confident during your interview. We at
tutorialspoint wish you best luck to have a good
interviewer and all the very best for your future
endeavor. Cheers :-)

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