Python Control Structures, Functions,
and Operators – Interview Q&A
🔹 Variables and Data Types
1. Q: How do you declare a variable in Python?
Answer: You simply assign a value to a variable:
Example: x = 5
2. Q: What are global and local variables?
Answer: Local variables are declared inside functions and accessible only there.
Global variables are declared outside any function and accessible throughout the module.
3. Q: What is the difference between mutable and immutable types?
Answer: Mutable types (like list, dict) can be changed.
Immutable types (like int, str, tuple) cannot be changed after creation.
4. Q: What are the built-in data types in Python?
Answer: - Numeric: int, float, complex
- Sequence: list, tuple, range, str
- Set: set, frozenset
- Mapping: dict
- Boolean: bool
- Binary: bytes, bytearray
5. Q: How does Python handle type casting?
Answer: Python supports:
- Implicit casting: e.g., float + int → float
- Explicit casting: int('5'), float('3.2'), str(10)
🔹 Operators and Expressions
6. Q: What are the types of operators in Python?
Answer: - Arithmetic: +, -, *, /, %, //, **
- Comparison: ==, !=, >, <, >=, <=
- Logical: and, or, not
- Assignment: =, +=, -=
- Identity: is, is not
- Membership: in, not in
- Bitwise: &, |, ^, ~, <<, >>
7. Q: What is the difference between ‘==’ and ‘is’ operators?
Answer: ‘==’ checks if values are equal.
‘is’ checks if variables point to the same object in memory.
8. Q: What is the use of the ‘del’ keyword?
Answer: It deletes variables, objects, or elements from collections.
Example: del x or del list[0]
9. Q: Explain operator precedence in Python.
Answer: Operator precedence determines the order in which operators are evaluated.
Example: *, / have higher precedence than +, -.
Use parentheses to override it.
🔹 Control Structures
10. Q: Explain if-else conditions in Python.
Answer: Example:
if x > 0:
print('Positive')
elif x == 0:
print('Zero')
else:
print('Negative')
11. Q: How do you write loops in Python?
Answer: For loop:
for i in range(5): print(i)
While loop:
i=0
while i < 5:
print(i)
i += 1
12. Q: What is the difference between 'while' and 'for' loops?
Answer: - while: used when the number of iterations is unknown
- for: used when iterating over a sequence
13. Q: What are break, continue, and pass statements?
Answer: - break: exits loop early
- continue: skips to next iteration
- pass: does nothing (placeholder)
14. Q: How does Python handle switch-case like statements?
Answer: Python doesn't have switch-case. Use if-elif-else or match-case (Python 3.10+).
🔹 Functions
15. Q: What are functions in Python?
Answer: Functions are reusable blocks of code that perform a specific task.
16. Q: How do you define a function?
Answer: Use `def` keyword:
def greet(name):
print('Hello', name)
17. Q: What are *args and **kwargs?
Answer: - *args: for variable number of positional arguments
- **kwargs: for keyword arguments
Example:
def func(*args, **kwargs):
print(args, kwargs)
18. Q: Explain the difference between return and print.
Answer: - return sends value back to the caller
- print displays output to the console
19. Q: What is a lambda function?
Answer: A lambda is an anonymous function defined using the `lambda` keyword.
Example: square = lambda x: x*x
20. Q: What are Python decorators?
Answer: Decorators modify the behavior of a function without changing its code.
Example:
@decorator
def func(): pass
21. Q: What is recursion in Python? Provide an example.
Answer: Recursion is when a function calls itself.
Example:
def factorial(n):
return 1 if n==0 else n * factorial(n-1)
22. Q: How is argument passing done in Python? (Pass by value or reference)
Answer: Python uses pass-by-object-reference (or pass-by-assignment). Mutable objects
can be modified inside functions.
23. Q: What is a generator?
Answer: A generator yields values one at a time using `yield` and maintains state between
calls.
Example:
def gen():
yield 1
yield 2
24. Q: Explain the difference between generators and iterators.
Answer: - Generator: Automatically creates an iterator using a function and `yield`
- Iterator: Any object implementing __iter__() and __next__() methods
25. Q: What is the difference between local and nonlocal variables?
Answer: - Local: defined inside a function
- Nonlocal: used in nested functions to refer to variables in the outer function scope
