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Easy snippets you can copy, study, and run in the browser editor.
How to Update a Hosts File to Block Distractions in Python
This script updates a local hosts file (or a demo file) by adding or updating entries to block distracting websites like Facebook and Twitter.
from pathlib import Path
def update_hosts(entries):
"""
Add or update blocking entries in the hosts file.
Uses a local demo file by default to avoid system changes.
"""
hosts_path = Path("demo_hosts.txt")
# Create demo file if it doesn't exist
if not hosts_path.exists():
hosts…Run pytest and email summary in Python
Runs pytest via subprocess, extracts the test summary line, and sends it in an email (mocked for demonstration).
import smtplib
import subprocess
from email.mime.text import MIMEText
from email.mime.multipart import MIMEMultipart
def run_tests():
"""Run pytest and capture the summary output."""
result = subprocess.run(
["pytest", "-q"],
capture_output=True,
text=True
)
return result.stdo…Toggle VPN Mock Network Manager Script in Python
Simulate a VPN manager with connect, disconnect, toggle, and status methods for testing or demo workflows.
import time
class MockVPNManager:
def __init__(self):
self.is_connected = False
self.servers = ["us-west", "eu-central", "asia-east"]
self.active_server = None
def toggle(self):
if self.is_connected:
self.disconnect()
else:
self.connect()
d…How to Convert Data Types in a Python Data Pipeline
Demonstrates a simple Python data pipeline that converts string values to proper types (bool, int, float, datetime) and outputs structured JSON.
import json
from datetime import datetime
def convert_value(value):
"""Convert string values to appropriate Python types."""
if value.lower() == "true":
return True
if value.lower() == "false":
return False
if value.isdigit():
return int(value)
try:
return float(val…How to Unpivot Wide to Long with pandas melt in Python
This code demonstrates how to use pandas.melt to unpivot a wide DataFrame into a tidy long format, converting subject columns into rows.
import pandas as pd
# Sample wide-format data
df_wide = pd.DataFrame({
'id': [1, 2, 3],
'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
'math': [90, 85, 95],
'science': [80, 92, 88]
})
print("Original wide DataFrame:")
print(df_wide)
# Melt: unpivot subject columns into rows
df_long = pd.melt(
df_wide,
…How to Make a Shallow Clone of an Object in Python
Demonstrates using copy.copy() to create a shallow clone of a Python object, showing how nested mutable data is shared while top-level attributes are independent.
import copy
class Config:
def __init__(self):
self.settings = {"volume": 50}
self.user = "admin"
def demonstrate_shallow_copy():
original = Config()
shallow = copy.copy(original)
# Mutating nested object is visible in both (shallow copy share it)
shallow.settings["volume"] = 90…How to Revert a Commit and Create a New Revert Commit in Python
Demonstrates a mock Git repository that creates a new revert commit on top of the current head when reverting an existing commit.
class GitCommit:
"""Minimal mock of a git commit for demonstrating revert behavior."""
def __init__(self, sha, message):
self.sha = sha
self.message = message
self.parent = None
class GitRepository:
"""Mock repository tracking a simple commit chain."""
def __init__(self):
…Build a Textual TUI App Skeleton in Python
Create a minimal Textual terminal UI app with a header, label, button, and footer, ready for interactive mock demonstrations.
from textual.app import App, ComposeResult
from textual.widgets import Header, Footer, Button, Label
class MockApp(App):
"""A minimal Textual TUI app skeleton."""
BINDINGS = [("q", "quit", "Quit")]
def compose(self) -> ComposeResult:
"""Create child widgets."""
yield Header()
yie…How to Generate a Mock Rollbar Error Report in Python
Create a realistic fake Rollbar error report with random timestamps, levels, messages, and counts for testing and demos.
import json
import random
import time
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def mock_rollbar_report(n_errors=5):
messages = [
"TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'",
"KeyError: 'user_id'",
"ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 10: 'abc'",
"At…How to Mock setuptools_scm get_version in Python
This code demonstrates how to mock setuptools_scm.get_version in Python using unittest.mock.patch to test version retrieval logic without installing or relying on the actual package.
```python
from unittest.mock import patch
def get_version_from_scm():
try:
import setuptools_scm
return setuptools_scm.get_version()
except (ImportError, LookupError):
return None
if __name__ == "__main__":
with patch("setuptools_scm.get_version", return_value="1.2.3"):
pr…How to Parametrize Tests in Python with pytest
This code demonstrates how to use pytest's @pytest.mark.parametrize decorator to run a single test function against multiple input sets, ensuring comprehensive coverage with minimal code duplication.
import pytest
def multiply(a, b):
return a * b
@pytest.mark.parametrize("x, y, expected", [
(2, 3, 6),
(4, 5, 20),
(0, 10, 0),
(7, 1, 7),
])
def test_multiply(x, y, expected):
result = multiply(x, y)
assert result == expected, f"multiply({x}, {y}) = {result}, expected {expected}"
if _…How to Read the Python Path from VS Code settings.json in Python
This code loads VS Code's settings.json file and extracts the python.defaultInterpreterPath value, with a mock demonstration for testing.
import json
from pathlib import Path
from unittest.mock import patch
def read_vscode_python_path(settings_path: Path) -> str:
"""Extract python.defaultInterpreterPath from VS Code settings.json."""
with open(settings_path, "r") as f:
settings = json.load(f)
return settings.get("python", {}).get("d…How to Use prompt_toolkit Autocomplete in Python
Demonstrates an interactive command-line prompt with autocomplete using prompt_toolkit's WordCompleter and a mock dataset.
from prompt_toolkit import prompt
from prompt_toolkit.completion import WordCompleter
def main():
"""Demo of prompt_toolkit autocomplete with a mock dataset."""
# A simple mock "database" of programming languages
languages = [
"Python", "Java", "JavaScript", "TypeScript", "C++", "C#",
"Go"…How to Convert Data in Parallel with ThreadPoolExecutor in Python
This example demonstrates converting a list of items in parallel using ThreadPoolExecutor, showing performance gains over serial processing.
import time
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
def convert_data(item):
"""Simulate a CPU/IO-bound conversion task."""
time.sleep(0.05) # simulate work
return item.upper()
if __name__ == "__main__":
items = [f"item_{i}" for i in range(20)]
start = time.perf_counter()
serial_…How to Use Array Typecodes for Compact Numeric Storage in Python
This code demonstrates how to use the `array` module with typecodes to store integers, floats, and bytes in a memory-efficient way compared to standard Python lists.
from array import array
def demonstrate_array_types():
# Compact integer arrays
small_ints = array('i', [1, 2, 3, 4, 5])
unsigned_ints = array('I', [10, 20, 30])
# Floating point arrays
floats = array('f', [1.5, 2.5, 3.5])
doubles = array('d', [1.123456789, 2.987654321])
# Charac…Synchronize Threads with a Barrier in Python
Demonstrates using threading.Barrier to synchronize multiple threads at phase boundaries, ensuring all workers wait for each other before proceeding.
import threading
import time
from random import randint
def worker(barrier, worker_id):
for phase in range(3):
time.sleep(randint(1, 3))
print(f"Worker {worker_id} finished phase {phase} at {time.time():.2f}")
barrier.wait()
print(f"Worker {worker_id}: all phases complete")
if __name_…Thread-Safe Producer Consumer Queue in Python
A producer-consumer pattern using thread-safe queue.Queue with two threads, demonstrating safe communication and synchronized task completion.
import queue
import threading
import time
import random
def producer(q, item_count):
for i in range(item_count):
item = random.randint(1, 100)
q.put(item)
print(f"Producer added: {item}")
time.sleep(0.1)
def consumer(q):
while True:
try:
item = q.get(time…asyncio sleep cooperative scheduling demo in Python
This demo shows how asyncio.sleep yields control between concurrent tasks, letting multiple workers interleave their ticks.
import asyncio
async def worker(name, delay):
for i in range(3):
print(f"{name}: tick {i}")
await asyncio.sleep(delay)
return f"{name} done"
async def main():
tasks = [
asyncio.create_task(worker("A", 0.1)),
asyncio.create_task(worker("B", 0.2)),
asyncio.create_tas…Generate Fake User Data with Faker in Python
Use the Faker library to generate realistic fake user profiles with names, emails, phone numbers, and addresses for tests or demos.
from faker import Faker
fake = Faker()
def generate_user():
return {
"name": fake.name(),
"email": fake.email(),
"phone": fake.phone_number(),
"address": fake.address().replace("\n", ", "),
}
if __name__ == "__main__":
user = generate_user()
for key, value in user.ite…How to Use Union Type Hints in Python
This code demonstrates how to use Union type hints to specify that a parameter can accept multiple types (int, float, str) and handle them accordingly.
from typing import Union
def process_value(value: Union[int, float, str]) -> str:
if isinstance(value, (int, float)):
return f"Number: {value * 2}"
return f"String: {value.upper()}"
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(process_value(10))
print(process_value(3.14))
print(process_value("hello"))How to Use setUp and tearDown in Python unittest TestCase
Demonstrates how to structure unit tests with setUp and tearDown methods in Python's unittest framework for reusable test fixtures.
import unittest
class ExampleTest(unittest.TestCase):
def setUp(self):
self.data = [1, 2, 3]
def tearDown(self):
self.data = None
def test_length(self):
self.assertEqual(len(self.data), 3)
def test_contains(self):
self.assertIn(2, self.data)
if __name__ == "__main…How to use unittest mock side_effect with a sequence in Python
Demonstrates using Mock.side_effect with a list to return different values per call and raise an exception at a specific call in unittest.
import unittest
from unittest.mock import Mock
class TestMockSideEffectSequence(unittest.TestCase):
def test_side_effect_sequence(self):
mock = Mock()
mock.side_effect = [1, 2, 3, Exception("boom")]
self.assertEqual(mock(), 1)
self.assertEqual(mock(), 2)
self.asser…How to Mock a Metrics Decorator in Python with unittest.mock
This code demonstrates a timing decorator that wraps a function to measure execution time and prints the duration, with a unit test using unittest.mock to patch the print function and assert it was called.
import time
from functools import wraps
from unittest.mock import patch
def add_metrics(func):
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
start = time.perf_counter()
result = func(*args, **kwargs)
elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start
print(f"{func.__name__} took {elapsed:.6f}s…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):
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