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Chain of Thought Prompting in Python: Step-by-Step Reasoning Demo
This demo shows how to structure a function that explains its own reasoning step-by-step, mimicking chain-of-thought prompting for AI systems.
def solve_math_step_by_step(expression: str) -> str:
"""Solves a simple expression, showing each reasoning step."""
# Step 1: Parse the expression (assume "a + b" or "a - b")
parts = expression.split()
a = int(parts[0])
op = parts[1]
b = int(parts[2])
steps = []
steps.append(f"Step…Demonstrate Prompt Injection Bypass in Python
Simulate why naive system prompt filters fail against prompt injection with casing and spacing variations.
# Demonstrate why system prompts can be bypassed by simulated user input
# This demo shows a naive filter being ignored via prompt injection
def process_user_message(message, system_rules):
"""Simulate an AI that follows system rules but gets tricked."""
# Claim to check system rules
for rule in system_ru…How to Build a System-User-Assistant Message List in Python
Use dataclasses to model a chat conversation and build the system/user/assistant message list expected by LLM APIs.
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import List
@dataclass
class Message:
role: str
content: str
@dataclass
class Conversation:
messages: List[Message] = field(default_factory=list)
def add_system(self, content: str) -> None:
self.messages.append(Message(role="system", con…Automatically Generate Hardware Inventory Reports in Python
Generate a system hardware report including OS version, CPU cores, RAM, and disk usage using platform and psutil.
import platform
import psutil # requires: pip install psutil
from datetime import datetime
def generate_hardware_report():
report_lines = []
report_lines.append(f"Report Generated: {datetime.now().strftime('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')}")
report_lines.append(f"System: {platform.system()} {platform.release()} ({pl…Automatically Log CPU, RAM, and Disk Usage Every Minute in Python
This script logs CPU, RAM, and disk usage to a CSV file every 60 seconds using psutil and Python's standard library.
import psutil
import time
import csv
from pathlib import Path
LOG_FILE = Path("system_usage_log.csv")
INTERVAL_SECONDS = 60
def log_system_usage():
"""Write CPU, RAM, and disk usage to CSV every minute."""
file_exists = LOG_FILE.exists()
with open(LOG_FILE, mode="a", newline="") as f:
writer = cs…How to Clean Old Temp Files in Python
A Python script that scans a directory and deletes files older than a configurable age (default: one week), with safe error handling.
import os
import time
from pathlib import Path
def clean_old_temp_files(directory=".", max_age_seconds=7 * 24 * 60 * 60):
"""
Remove files in directory older than the specified age.
Args:
directory: Path to directory to clean
max_age_seconds: Maximum age in seconds (default: 1 week)
…Mock systemctl Wrapper in Python for Service Testing
A Python class-based mock of systemctl that simulates start, stop, restart, and status operations for a service, useful for testing automation scripts.
import subprocess
import sys
class ServiceManager:
def __init__(self, service_name):
self.service_name = service_name
self.status = "inactive"
def start(self):
self.status = "active"
print(f"Starting {self.service_name}... OK")
def stop(self):
self.status …How to create a dated snapshot path for a dataset in Python
Generate a versioned directory path combining a base directory, dataset name, and today's date, ready for creating snapshots in data pipelines.
import datetime
import os
from pathlib import Path
def snapshot_path(base_dir: str, dataset_name: str) -> Path:
"""Return a dated snapshot path for a dataset under a base directory."""
today = datetime.date.today().isoformat()
return Path(base_dir) / dataset_name / today
if __name__ == "__main__":
…Trigger a Pipeline When a New File Appears in a Directory
Poll a directory every 0.5 seconds and return the name of the first new file that appears, or None after a timeout.
import time
from pathlib import Path
def watch_for_file(directory: str, interval: float = 0.5, timeout: float = 10.0) -> str | None:
"""Poll a directory and trigger when a new file appears."""
watch_dir = Path(directory)
watch_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
known_files = set(watch_dir.iterdir())
s…How to Mock Git Worktree Creation in Python
Create a mock Git worktree setup with parallel branch directories and state files for testing or simulation.
import os
import tempfile
from pathlib import Path
def create_mock_worktree(base_dir: Path, branches: list[str]) -> dict[str, Path]:
"""
Mock Git worktree creation: creates parallel directories for each branch
under the base directory, simulating independent worktrees.
"""
worktrees = {}
for b…Build a Recipe Runner Mock in Python
A Python script that mocks a command runner recipe system: maps recipe names to shell commands, executes them with subprocess, and prints the output and exit code.
import subprocess
import sys
def run_recipe(recipe: str) -> None:
"""Simulate a command runner recipe by printing the command and exit code."""
print(f"Running recipe: {recipe}")
result = subprocess.run(recipe, shell=True, capture_output=True, text=True)
print(f"Exit code: {result.returncode}")
i…How to Mock Click CLI App Subcommands in Python
Simulate Click-style CLI subcommand calls in Python by using argparse with subparsers and mocking sys.argv in tests or scripts.
import sys
import argparse
def do_greet(args):
print(f"Hello, {args.name}!")
def do_goodbye(args):
print(f"Goodbye, {args.name}!")
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(prog="clickapp")
subparsers = parser.add_subparsers(dest="command", required=True)
greet_parser = subparsers.add_par…Capture stdout and stderr with pytest capsys
Use pytest's capsys fixture to capture and assert on standard output and error streams in your tests.
import pytest
# Function under test
def greet(name):
print(f"Hello, {name}!")
print(f"Error: {name} not found", file=sys.stderr)
def test_captures_stdout_and_stderr(capsys):
greet("Alice")
captured = capsys.readouterr()
assert "Hello, Alice!" in captured.out
assert "Error: Alice not foun…How to Mock pathlib Path.read_text with mock_open in Python
Mock pathlib.Path.read_text using patch and mock_open to test file-reading code without touching the filesystem.
import pathlib
from unittest.mock import mock_open, patch
def read_config(filepath: pathlib.Path) -> str:
"""Read file content with pathlib."""
return filepath.read_text()
if __name__ == "__main__":
mock_data = "version: 1.0\nname: demo-app"
with patch("pathlib.Path.open", mock_open(read_data=mo…How to Build a Health Check System with Instance Up and Down Status in Python
Track instance health by marking them up or down and simulating health checks with a mock class in Python.
from datetime import datetime
import random
class HealthChecker:
def __init__(self):
self.status = {}
def mark_up(self, instance_id):
self.status[instance_id] = {
"state": "up",
"last_check": datetime.now().isoformat(),
"healthy": True
}
…How to Build an Append-Only Event Store in Python
Implement a simple append-only event store class that stores events in a list and supports retrieval by index range.
class EventStore:
def __init__(self):
self._events = []
def append(self, event):
"""Append an event to the store."""
self._events.append(event)
def get_events(self, start=0, end=None):
"""Return events from start index to end (exclusive)."""
return self._events[sta…How to Implement a Data Helper Class in Python
Build a beginner-friendly DataHelper class using dataclasses and key system design patterns like Command, Strategy, and Map.
from __future__ import annotations
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional
@dataclass
class DataHelper:
"""A beginner-friendly data utility with common system design patterns."""
data: List[Dict[str, Any]] = field(default_factory=list)
def add_record(self, r…How to Mock the Ambassador Pattern Retry Client in Python
This code demonstrates the ambassador pattern for API clients by simulating a flaky request and retrying with exponential backoff, useful for testing resilience in system design.
import time
import random
class RetryingClient:
"""Retry wrapper simulating a flaky ambassador-style API client."""
def __init__(self, max_attempts=3, base_delay=0.1):
self.max_attempts = max_attempts
self.base_delay = base_delay
self.attempts = 0
def _flaky_request(self):
…How to Take Periodic Snapshots of Aggregate State in Python
Build a Python class that accumulates values and periodically captures immutable snapshots of total, count, and average for later analysis.
import time
import random
from collections import defaultdict
class SnapshotAggregator:
def __init__(self):
self.total = 0
self.count = 0
self.history = []
def add(self, value):
self.total += value
self.count += 1
def snapshot(self):
avg = self.total / se…Round Robin Load Balancer in Python
This code simulates round robin load balancing by distributing a list of requests evenly across a list of servers.
def round_robin_servers(requests: list[str], servers: list[str]) -> dict[str, list[str]]:
assignments = {server: [] for server in servers}
for idx, request in enumerate(requests):
server = servers[idx % len(servers)]
assignments[server].append(request)
return assignments
if __name__ == "_…How to Implement Publish-Subscribe Fanout with Multiple Subscribers in Python
Create a simple publish-subscribe system in Python that broadcasts messages to multiple subscriber callbacks for a given topic.
import time
class PubSub:
def __init__(self):
self.subscribers = {}
def subscribe(self, topic, callback):
if topic not in self.subscribers:
self.subscribers[topic] = []
self.subscribers[topic].append(callback)
def publish(self, topic, message):
if topic in sel…How to Implement an In-Memory Pub/Sub System in Python
This code implements a simple in-memory publish/subscribe system in Python, allowing topics, callbacks, and message broadcasting.
class PubSub:
def __init__(self):
self.topics = {}
def subscribe(self, topic, callback):
if topic not in self.topics:
self.topics[topic] = []
self.topics[topic].append(callback)
return lambda: self.unsubscribe(topic, callback)
def unsubscribe(self, topic, callb…Build a queue-based admission control system in Python
Implement a simple bounded-queue admission controller that accepts or rejects incoming requests based on current queue capacity.
from collections import deque
import time
class AdmissionControl:
"""Simple admission control using a bounded queue.
Requests arrive at the queue; they are admitted in FIFO order.
If the queue is full, the incoming request is rejected.
"""
def __init__(self, capacity: int):
self.capacit…How to Generate and Propagate W3C Trace Context Headers in Python
Generate and propagate W3C traceparent and tracestate headers for distributed tracing in Python, with mock service headers.
import uuid
def generate_w3c_traceparent(trace_id=None, parent_id=None, flags="01"):
if trace_id is None:
trace_id = uuid.uuid4().hex[:32]
if parent_id is None:
parent_id = uuid.uuid4().hex[:16]
return f"00-{trace_id}-{parent_id}-{flags}"
def create_mock_headers(service_name, trace_id=N…Browse by section
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