What is an IP address?
Why Interviewers Ask This
Interviewers use this question to quickly assess whether a candidate has the foundational knowledge required for Networking development. It reveals whether you understand the building blocks that more complex concepts rely on.
Answer
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique numerical label assigned to every device on a network, enabling identification and location. IPv4 addresses are 32-bit numbers written in dotted-decimal notation: four octets (0-255) separated by dots (e.g., 192.168.1.100). IPv4 has about 4.3 billion possible addresses, which are nearly exhausted. IPv6 addresses are 128-bit, written as eight groups of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334), providing approximately 340 undecillion addresses. IPs can be public (globally routable, assigned by ISPs) or private (used inside local networks: 10.x.x.x, 172.16-31.x.x, 192.168.x.x).
Pro Tip
This topic has Networking-specific nuances that differ from general programming. Highlighting those nuances in your answer shows expertise rather than generic knowledge.