Top 10 Python Fundamentals Every Developer Should Know

1. What are Python's characteristics and advantages?

Python is an interpreted, dynamically‑typed, object‑oriented language that is concise, open‑source, and backed by a strong community.

2. What is the difference between deep copy and shallow copy?

A deep copy creates a completely independent object, so modifications to the copy do not affect the original. In Python you use copy.deepcopy() after importing the copy module:

import copy
b = copy.deepcopy(a)

A shallow copy copies only references; changes to the copy affect the original. Use copy.copy():

b = copy.copy(a)

3. What is the difference between lists and tuples?

Lists are mutable, tuples are immutable. Example:

mylist = [1, 3, 3]
mylist[1] = 2
mytuple = (1, 3, 3)
mytuple[1] = 2  # raises TypeError

4. How to implement multithreading in Python?

Python provides a threading module; however, the Global Interpreter Lock (GIL) ensures only one thread executes Python bytecode at a time, giving the illusion of parallelism while actually switching threads on the CPU.

5. Explain inheritance in Python.

Inheritance allows a subclass to acquire attributes and methods from a parent class, promoting code reuse. Types include single inheritance, multiple inheritance, multilevel inheritance, hierarchical inheritance, and hybrid inheritance.

6. What is monkey patching?

Monkey patching modifies a class or module at runtime. Example:

class A:
    def func(self):
        print("Hi")

def monkey(self):
    print("Hi, monkey")
A.func = monkey
a = A()
a.func()  # prints "Hi, monkey"

7. What do *args and **kwargs mean?

*args collects an arbitrary number of positional arguments into a tuple, while **kwargs collects keyword arguments into a dictionary.

def func(*args):
    for i in args:
        print(i)
func(1, 2, 3, 4)

def func(**kwargs):
    for k in kwargs:
        print(k, kwargs[k])
func(a=1, b=2, c=3, d=4)

8. Difference between __new__ and __init__?

__new__ is a static method that creates and returns a new instance; __init__ is an instance method that initializes the already created object and returns nothing.

9. Explain Python's ternary operator.

Python uses the syntax [on true] if [condition] else [on false]. Example:

a, b = 2, 3
min_val = a if a < b else b
print(min_val)  # 2

10. How does Python manage memory?

Python maintains a private heap for all objects and data structures, managed by the interpreter. The built‑in garbage collector automatically reclaims unused memory.