What is returned when mylist[-2] is executed?

In Python, when using negative indexing to access elements in a list, negative numbers count from the end of the list backward. Specifically, -1 refers to the last element, -2 refers to the second to last element, and so forth. Therefore, when mylist[-2] is executed, it retrieves the item that is positioned two places from the end of the list.

This behavior is particularly useful for quickly accessing elements without needing to know the exact length of the list, making it a powerful feature in Python programming. The rationale behind using negative indexing aligns with the principle of starting from the end of a sequence, which can be more intuitive in certain programming scenarios where the end of the list is of greater interest than the beginning.