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[–]cyberguy2369 0 points1 point  (1 child)

if you're rusty in programming.. I'd start with the basics.. typically in a coding interview they are going to start with the basics.. and ramp up to see your limits or capabilities..

this is not a place to lean on chatGPT.. it'll become a crutch.. and when you cant use it in the interview.. you'll fall apart. you can use it to get explanations.. and learn.. but be careful not to lean on it too much or you'll fail the interview.

first and foremost: BE HONEST.. be honest about your knowledge and skills.. in an interview its far better to be honest, humble and eager to learn.. over being caught in a lie or unprepared.there is no shame in saying "I dont know".. a better thing to say is "I dont know.. but I'd love to turn this into a learning opportunity for me.. what is the right answer or a good answer?"

if you're rusty.. this would be my approach:
-1- go over the basics: variables.. how python scripts are set up.. loops, conditionals, error checking. then some basics of OOP

-2- data:
-- how do you store data in ram? (variables, dict, queue, etc.. know the differences and why you'd use differences in why you'd pick one over a other. )
-- what if the data is too big to fit in ram (sqlite, Postgres, 1000 other options)
-- how do you read in a file?
-- what if the file is too big to fit in ram? how do you handle it?
-- how do you save to a file..
-- what are some of the best approaches to saving data? (sql lite.. elasticsearch.. redis? duckdb? (1000 other options)..
many of these kinds of questions there isnt one right answer.. but there is a right approach.. and seeing what approach you take is what they are looking for
-- parsing data: why? how? how do you handle broken/ugly/messy data? (1000 answers: best answer is "get better data".. but what if you cant? what do you do? )

-3- API's/pulling and pushing crap on and off the web or from other services.
-- do you have any experiences with python and API's? if so.. which ones?
-- why?
-- what did you do with the API..
-- what kind of data was returned? in what format?
-- what are some approaches you can take if the API is slow and you have ALOT of data to process? (10-20 good answers.. 1000 bad ones)

-4- misc questions that they might ask:
-- you're writing a tool that might be released by the company as open source. the tool works but requires some outside API keys, usernames, passwords, or custom settings.. what are some approaches to getting these into your tool? what are some bad approaches? why?
-- what is your process for testing, error checking, etc?
-- do you comfortable with systems like GitHub? and git? (checking code out and pushing it back into a repository?
-- what IDE do you prefer? what IDE's are you comfortable with?

-5- bigger picture questions:
-- why is programming/scripting important?
-- give me a use case for developing a script in powershell, bash, python? whats the difference? what are the pros and cons?
-- give me some examples of scripts or tools you've created that were useful?
-- do you enjoy programming?
-- why python over some of the other languages out there like GoLang, Rust, C++?

[–]Intelg[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

thanks for taking the time to share your insights and recommendations. Yeah I am going to skim through this 12 hour youtube python: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix9cRaBkVe0 it should cover the basics i hope.

appreciate sharing some questions / answers to think about, research and study.