What unique Python interview questions have you encountered?

It's also useful to discuss the differences between prefixing an identifier with a single underscore (_) versus a double underscore (__). For instance, the single underscore typically suggests that the variable is private, while the double underscore triggers name mangling in Python.

One great question I've used is whether Python has a JIT compiler. It’s a good indicator of whether candidates are keeping up with developments in the language, like implementations such as Numba or PyPy. For asynchronous programming, I might ask about the differences between coroutines, threads, and processes in Python. If you're feeling tough, you could even ask what coroutines and generators have in common. And don’t forget standard questions like the difference between lists and tuples, and what __new__, __init__, and __len__ do! Asking about decorators can also lead to interesting discussions.

I like to ask questions about candidates' opinions on various libraries. It’s less about the specific libraries and more about whether they can form informed opinions based on actual experience. This helps me gauge their flexibility and openness to change as technology evolves.

Try presenting a function definition like this: `def add_to_list(item, items=[]): return items.append(item)`. Then ask, what's wrong with it? It encourages candidates to think critically about mutable default arguments and leads to a discussion on function behavior.