Junior Python interview: what strings in Python are hiding

A mock interview for the role of Junior Python Developer. This episode takes an in-depth look at strings in Python: mutability and immutability, ways to declare strings, escaping, special characters, different string literals, `split()`, and common mistakes in interview reasoning. Finally, there is detailed feedback on the candidate’s strengths and areas for improvement.

Timecodes:
00:00 — Start
00:11 — Greeting and introduction of participants
02:10 — How the interview will proceed
04:02 — First question: what is a data type
04:36 — Mutable and immutable data types
06:07 — What is a hash
16:19 — Moving on to strings in Python
17:24 — How to declare a string in Python
21:51 — Are there any restrictions when creating strings
22:16 — Escaping special characters
24:46 — What is a regular expression
27:16 — Moving on to code analysis
27:28 — Can you create a string with special characters without escaping
32:25 — Analysis of different string literals in Python
35:54 — Why are there so many ways to define strings in Python
41:07 — Checking strings with Russian characters
42:12 — ASCII and the limitations of certain literals
44:31 — What is a literal
47:16 — Analysing strings with backslashes
57:13 — Are all the options discussed strings
59:25 — How to split a long string into parts
59:42 — The split() method
01:04:26 — Moving on to feedback
01:04:51 — The candidate’s impressions of the interview
01:06:26 — Detailed feedback from the interviewer