Built-in Functions
8 Topics
1
map, filter, reduce
Functional programming utilities for data transformation pipelines
Common in interviews — understanding when to use these vs comprehensions is key
2
zip Function
Combining iterables element-by-element for parallel iteration
Common in interviews — dict creation from two lists, matrix transposition, and parallel processing
3
sorted and reversed
Sorting iterables with custom keys and reversing sequences
Very common — stable sort, multi-key sorting, and custom key functions are frequently tested
4
any and all
Testing boolean conditions across iterables
Common in interviews — clean validation patterns and short-circuit evaluation
5
min, max, sum
Aggregate functions for finding extremes and totals
Common in interviews — custom key functions and default parameter for empty iterables
6
len, type, isinstance
Type checking, length measurement, and inheritance-aware type tests
Common in interviews — isinstance vs type() and duck typing are frequently discussed
7
eval and exec
Dynamic code execution with security considerations
Advanced topic — security implications and ast.literal_eval are commonly discussed
8
dir and help
Introspection functions for exploring objects and documentation
Essential debugging and exploration tools — expected knowledge for Python developers