Discover challenging Python brain teasers that test your skills and stretch your thinking. Gain insights into advanced concepts and enhance your understanding of this versatile language.

Forget Scrabble, Boggle, or Wordle. Tease your mind and test your skills with these fun brain teasers designed to stretch your thinking and expand your understanding of one of the most widely used languages out there. 

Python is simple. These puzzles are not. Good luck!

Python Brain Teasers

# Try it yourself
Execute the code below to verify the result:

from heapq import heappush, heappop

tasks = []
heappush(tasks, (30, 'work out'))
heappush(tasks, (10, 'wake up'))
heappush(tasks, (20, 0xCAFFE))
heappush(tasks, (20, 'feed cat'))
heappush(tasks, (40, 'write book'))

while tasks:
    _, payload = heappop(tasks) 
    print(payload)

# Explanation
The built-in `heapq` module implements min-heap over lists. It’s common to use a heap for a priority queue. Pushing and deleting from the heap are `log(N)` operations, and the first item in the heap (`tasks[0]`) is always the smallest.

To compare items in the heap, `heapq` uses the comparison defined in the object’s type. It uses the `<` operator, which maps to the specific type’s `__lt__` special method. The objects in the tasks heap are tuples. Python orders tuples and lists in **Lexicographical order**, very much like books are ordered in the library. Lexicographical order compares the first two items, then the second two, and so on. If all of the items are equal, the longest tuple is considered bigger.

In **line 11**, we pop the first item from tasks, which in this case is (`10`, `wake up`). After the item is removed from the heap, `heapq` will move the smallest item to the top of the heap. In our example, there are two candidates: (`20`, 'feed cat') and (`20`, `0xCAFFE`). Since the first items in these tuples are equal, Python will try to compare the second items.

Notice that `0xCAFFE` is a hexadecimal (`base 16`) number. Writing words this way is called “leet” or “l33t”.

Comparing `‘feed cat’` (a `’str’`) with `0xCAFFE` (an `‘int’`) will raise an exception.

## Change the priority and try again
Let’s try changing the priority of `0xCAFFE` to `21` or `19` in the code widget above and see what happens!

Before We Begin

Python Puzzles

Wrapping Up

Puzzle 4: Explanation

Try it yourself

Explanation