Complete Python + DSA Interview Guide
Python + DSA Interview Questions (Basic to Advanced)
Python Basics
1. What are the key features of Python?
2. What is the difference between list, tuple, and set in Python?
3. Explain Python's memory management.
4. What are Python's data types?
5. What is the difference between 'is' and '=='' in Python?
6. Explain Python's slicing and indexing.
7. How does Python handle type conversion?
8. What is a Python dictionary and how do you use it?
9. Explain the concept of mutability in Python.
10. What are *args and **kwargs in function definitions?
Object-Oriented Python
1. What is Object-Oriented Programming in Python?
2. What is the difference between a class and an object?
3. What is inheritance? Give an example in Python.
4. What are instance variables and class variables?
5. Explain method overloading and method overriding in Python.
6. What is the purpose of __init__ method in classes?
7. Explain the use of 'super()' in inheritance.
8. What are access modifiers in Python?
9. What are dunder (magic) methods in Python?
10. What is polymorphism and how is it implemented in Python?
Advanced Python
1. What are decorators in Python?
2. Explain generators and iterators.
3. What are list comprehensions?
4. What is a lambda function? How is it used?
5. Explain the use of 'with' statement and context managers.
6. What are Python modules and packages?
7. What is multithreading vs multiprocessing in Python?
8. What is the GIL (Global Interpreter Lock)?
9. Explain exception handling in Python.
10. How do you manage memory leaks in Python?
Python for DSA
1. How do you implement a stack using Python list?
2. How to implement a queue using deque from collections?
3. Write a Python function to reverse a linked list.
4. Implement binary search using recursion in Python.
5. Write Python code to detect a cycle in a graph.
6. Implement BFS and DFS in Python.
7. Solve the Two Sum problem in Python.
8. Write a Python function for merge sort.
9. Find the longest palindrome substring using Python.
10. Implement LRU Cache using OrderedDict in Python.
Problem Solving / Coding Round
1. Print Fibonacci sequence using recursion and iteration.
2. Find the second largest element in an array.
3. Remove duplicates from a sorted list.
4. Count the number of vowels in a string.
5. Find the first non-repeating character in a string.
6. Check if a string is a palindrome.
7. Sort a dictionary by value.
8. Implement a binary tree and do inorder traversal.
9. Check if a number is prime.
10. Find the missing number in an array.
Frequently Asked Python & DSA Interview Questions with Solutions
1. What is the difference between deep copy and shallow copy in Python?
Shallow copy copies references to objects, deep copy copies the objects themselves.
Example:
```python
import copy
lst1 = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]
lst2 = copy.copy(lst1)
lst3 = copy.deepcopy(lst1)
```
2. How do you find the largest and smallest number in a list in Python?
```python
nums = [4, 1, 7, 3, 9]
max_val = max(nums)
min_val = min(nums)
```
3. Reverse a string in Python.
```python
s = 'hello'
reversed_s = s[::-1]
```
4. Write a Python function to check for a palindrome.
```python
def is_palindrome(s):
return s == s[::-1]
```
5. Find the frequency of elements in a list.
```python
from collections import Counter
Counter([1, 2, 2, 3, 1, 4, 2])
```
6. Find the missing number in an array of 1 to n.
```python
def missing_number(arr, n):
return n*(n+1)//2 - sum(arr)
```
7. Implement binary search.
```python
def binary_search(arr, target):
left, right = 0, len(arr)-1
while left <= right:
mid = (left + right) // 2
if arr[mid] == target:
return mid
elif arr[mid] < target:
left = mid + 1
else:
right = mid - 1
return -1
```
8. Implement a stack using Python list.
```python
stack = []
stack.append(1)
stack.append(2)
stack.pop()
```
9. Write a function to calculate factorial using recursion.
```python
def factorial(n):
if n == 0:
return 1
return n * factorial(n-1)
```
10. Check if a number is prime.
```python
def is_prime(n):
if n <= 1:
return False
for i in range(2, int(n**0.5) + 1):
if n % i == 0:
return False
return True
```
11. Find the intersection of two lists.
```python
list1 = [1, 2, 3]
list2 = [2, 3, 4]
intersection = list(set(list1) & set(list2))
```
12. Implement bubble sort.
```python
def bubble_sort(arr):
n = len(arr)
for i in range(n):
for j in range(0, n-i-1):
if arr[j] > arr[j+1]:
arr[j], arr[j+1] = arr[j+1], arr[j]
```
13. Find the first non-repeating character in a string.
```python
from collections import Counter
def first_non_repeating(s):
count = Counter(s)
for ch in s:
if count[ch] == 1:
return ch
```
14. What is a lambda function?
Anonymous function written as: `lambda x: x + 2`. Example:
```python
double = lambda x: x*2
double(5) # returns 10
```
15. How does Python handle memory management?
Python uses reference counting and garbage collection to manage memory.
Modules like `gc` are used to inspect and control garbage collection.
