Parse a query string in Python
Python interview exercise on Practical, difficulty 2 of 3. Solve it in the editor beside a worked example, or cold in Interview mode with the example hidden; the tests run the moment you do.
Write parse_query(qs) that turns "?page=2&sort=name" into a list of (key, value) tuples in order. Accept a leading "?", skip empty segments, give a key without "=" an empty value, and split only at the first "=". No percent-decoding. (The standard library's urllib.parse.parse_qsl does the real thing.)
Each exercise pairs a worked example with a twin problem to solve in a real editor; the tests run the moment you do. Interview mode hides the example: solve it from memory, without the hint or the solution, and it counts as solved cold. Progress is saved in your browser, and in your account if you sign in.