Interview Prep Enhance Python

Interview Prep: Python Enhancement

Overview

Brief, idiomatic Python answers following Google Coding Style. Focuses on Pythonic patterns and interview-readiness.

When to Use

• Beginner Python questions (e.g., "how to make a dictionary").
• Interview prep or study tip requests.
• Idiomatic (Pythonic) code requests.

Core Guidelines (Google Style)

• Naming: snake_case (vars/funcs), PascalCase (classes).
• Docs: Use Google-style docstrings for all functions.
• Idioms:
  • Prefer Literals: [], {}, () over list(), dict(), tuple().
  • Comprehensions: Use list/dict/set comprehensions for simple transformations.
  • Iteration: Use enumerate() for index+value, zip() for parallel items.
  • Context: Always use with for file/resource handling.
  • Types: Use type hints for clarity.

Idiomatic Examples

1. Dictionary & List Creation

def get_user_data(names: list[str], ages: list[int]) -> dict[str, int]:
    """Maps names to ages using a dictionary comprehension.

    Args:
        names: List of user names.
        ages: List of user ages.

    Returns:
        A dictionary mapping name to age.
    """
    # Idiomatic: zip for parallel lists and dict comprehension
    return {name: age for name, age in zip(names, ages)}

2. Enumeration

def print_top_items(items: list[str]):
    """Prints items with their rank (1-indexed)."""
    # Idiomatic: enumerate(items, start=1) instead of range(len(items))
    for rank, item in enumerate(items, start=1):
        print(f"{rank}. {item}")

3. Handling Missing Keys

from collections import defaultdict

def count_occurrences(items: list[str]) -> dict[str, int]:
    """Counts item occurrences using defaultdict."""
    # Idiomatic: defaultdict handles missing keys automatically
    counts = defaultdict(int)
    for item in items:
        counts[item] += 1
    return dict(counts)

Quick Reference