DEV Community

Cover image for 🐍 40 Python Interview Questions for 2025 β€” How Many Can You Answer? 🎯

🐍 40 Python Interview Questions for 2025 β€” How Many Can You Answer? 🎯

Hadil Ben Abdallah on April 30, 2025

Python is hotter than ever πŸ”₯, and in 2025, companies are raising the bar even higher for devs who want to stand out. Whether you’re prepping for yo...
Collapse
 
mahdijazini profile image
Mahdi Jazini

One of the most interesting questions from the article is: β€˜What is the difference between deep copy and shallow copy in Python?’ Can you explain how these two differ?

Collapse
 
hadil profile image
Hadil Ben Abdallah Final Round AI

Great question! Understanding the distinction between shallow and deep copies is crucial in Python, especially when dealing with mutable objects like lists or dictionaries.

  • Shallow Copy: Creates a new object, but inserts references into it to the objects found in the original. This means that changes to nested objects in the copy will reflect in the original.

  • Deep Copy: Creates a new object and recursively copies all objects found in the original. This ensures that changes in the copy do not affect the original object.

Here's a simple example:

import copy

original = [[1, 2], [3, 4]]

shallow = copy.copy(original)
deep = copy.deepcopy(original)

shallow[0][0] = 99
deep[1][1] = 88

print("Original:", original)
print("Shallow Copy:", shallow)
print("Deep Copy:", deep)
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

Output:

Original: [[99, 2], [3, 4]]
Shallow Copy: [[99, 2], [3, 4]]
Deep Copy: [[1, 2], [3, 88]]
Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode

As you can see, modifying the shallow copy affected the original, while changes to the deep copy did not.

Collapse
 
mahdijazini profile image
Mahdi Jazini

Thank you, Hadil....! πŸ™
Your explanation is super clear and the example really helps to understand the difference between shallow and deep copies. The output comparison makes it all click perfectly!
This distinction is definitely something to keep in mind when working with nested data structures.

Thread Thread
 
hadil profile image
Hadil Ben Abdallah Final Round AI

You're welcome πŸ™πŸ» If you have any specific topics or questions you'd like to see covered in future articles, feel free to let me know.

Collapse
 
hanadi profile image
Ben Abdallah Hanadi

Very nice article. Thank you for sharing πŸ™πŸ™

Collapse
 
hadil profile image
Hadil Ben Abdallah Final Round AI

You're welcome πŸ™πŸ»

Collapse
 
sanjay_rajeev_03b25309655 profile image
Sanjay Rajeev

I conduct interviews myself, and I must say this list looks great . I'll definitely be sharing it with my colleagues. As always, I'm a big fan of @hadil articles. Keep up the great work!πŸ‘

Collapse
 
hadil profile image
Hadil Ben Abdallah Final Round AI

Thank you so much for your encouragement Sanjay. I'm so happy you like my articles πŸ’™

Collapse
 
mahdijazini profile image
Mahdi Jazini

This article was really great! The questions are very comprehensive and practical, especially for those looking to enhance their Python skills and prepare for professional interviews. πŸ‘Œ

Collapse
 
hadil profile image
Hadil Ben Abdallah Final Round AI

Thank you so much for your kind words Mahdi! πŸ™πŸ» I'm thrilled to hear that you found the article comprehensive and practical. My goal was to provide a resource that helps developers at various levels prepare effectively for Python interviews.