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Take n items from an infinite Python generator
Uses itertools.islice to lazily take exactly n items from an infinite generator without exhausting it.
from itertools import islice
def count_up_from(start=0):
n = start
while True:
yield n
n += 1
def take_n(generator, count):
return list(islice(generator, count))
if __name__ == "__main__":
gen = count_up_from(10)
result = take_n(gen, 5)
print(result)
How to Batch Embed a List of Strings in Python
Batch embed a list of strings into deterministic pseudo-random vectors using a mock encoder class.
class MockEncoder:
def __init__(self, dim=8, seed=42):
self.dim = dim
self.seed = seed
def embed(self, text):
# Deterministic pseudo-random embedding based on text content
hash_val = hash(text)
import random
rng = random.Random(hash_val + self.seed)
retu…
How to Create a Mock Text Embedding with Hash in Python
Generate deterministic mock text embeddings using SHA-256 hashing and numpy, producing normalized vectors for similarity testing without an LLM.
import hashlib
import numpy as np
def mock_embed(text: str, dim: int = 10, seed: int = 42) -> np.ndarray:
"""Generate a deterministic mock embedding using a hash function.
Args:
text: Input text to embed
dim: Dimension of the output vector
seed: Seed for reproducibility
R…
How to Parse Chat Completion JSON in Python
Parse a mock OpenAI chat completion JSON response into a clean dictionary with content, finish reason, and model.
import json
def parse_chat_response(raw: str) -> dict:
data = json.loads(raw)
choice = data["choices"][0]
return {
"content": choice["message"]["content"],
"finish_reason": choice["finish_reason"],
"model": data["model"],
}
if __name__ == "__main__":
mock_response = '''
…
How to build a mock RAG pipeline in Python
Build a minimal Retrieval-Augmented Generation pipeline that retrieves the best-matching document by keyword overlap and generates a template-based answer.
def simple_rag_pipeline(question, documents):
"""
A minimal mock RAG pipeline: retrieve relevant context, then generate an answer.
"""
# Step 1: Retrieve — mock retrieval by simple keyword scoring
scores = []
for doc in documents:
doc_words = set(doc.lower().split())
question_wo…
How to Compress a Folder in Python While Preserving Directory Structure
A Python function that uses zipfile to recursively compress a folder, maintaining the original directory hierarchy inside the zip archive.
import os
import zipfile
from pathlib import Path
def compress_folder(source_dir: str, output_zip: str):
"""
Compress a folder into a zip file, preserving the directory structure.
Args:
source_dir: Path to the source directory to compress
output_zip: Path for the output zip file
"…
How to Create a Mock Headless Browser Screenshot Stub in Python
This code provides a deterministic stub that simulates capturing webpage screenshots with a headless browser, returning formatted output without real browser dependencies.
import subprocess
import sys
def mock_screenshot_webpage(url: str, width: int = 1280, height: int = 800) -> str:
"""Stub that simulates taking a screenshot of a webpage using headless browser."""
# In real implementation, you would use playwright/selenium/headless chrome
result = {
"url": url,
…
How to Generate Thumbnails While Maintaining Aspect Ratio in Python
Resize images to fit within maximum dimensions while preserving the original aspect ratio using Pillow (PIL).
from PIL import Image
def thumbnail_with_aspect_ratio(image_path, output_path, max_width, max_height):
with Image.open(image_path) as img:
# Get original dimensions
width, height = img.size
# Calculate scaling ratio to fit within max dimensions
ratio = min(max_width / width, max_h…
How to Generate a cloud-init User Data Mock in Python
Generate a cloud-init user data mock for a VM using a dataclass and JSON in Python.
import json
from dataclasses import dataclass, asdict
@dataclass
class VMConfig:
hostname: str
cpus: int
memory_mb: int
ssh_key: str
def generate_cloud_init_mock(config: VMConfig) -> str:
"""Build a cloud-init user-data mock for a VM."""
user_data = {
"hostname": config.hostname,
…
Generate a Deterministic Hash for Deduplication in Python
Create a stable SHA-256 fingerprint from nested data and file contents to deduplicate records in a data pipeline.
import hashlib
import json
from pathlib import Path
def natural_key_hash(data, salt=""):
"""
Generate a deterministic fingerprint from raw data (dict/list/str).
Uses JSON canonical-ish serialization with sorted keys and SHA-256.
"""
canonical = json.dumps(data, sort_keys=True, separators=(",", ":"…
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__":
…
Verify Git tag signatures with HMAC in Python
Create and verify deterministic HMAC-SHA256 signatures for git tags using the Python standard library.
import hashlib
import hmac
def sign_tag(tag: str, secret_key: str) -> str:
"""Create a deterministic HMAC signature for a tag."""
message = tag.encode("utf-8")
key = secret_key.encode("utf-8")
return hmac.new(key, message, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()
def verify_signed_tag(tag: str, signature: str, …
How to Generate a Mock EKS Kubeconfig in Python
Generate a minimal kubeconfig dict with a mock EKS cluster entry and dump it to YAML using PyYAML.
import yaml
from pathlib import Path
def mock_eks_kubeconfig(cluster_name: str) -> dict:
"""Return a minimal kubeconfig dict with a mock EKS cluster entry."""
return {
"apiVersion": "v1",
"kind": "Config",
"clusters": [
{
"name": f"arn:aws:eks:us-east-1:123…
Mock GCP Secret Manager access version in Python
A minimal mock of GCP Secret Manager that stores secret versions, retrieves payloads by version, and logs access timestamps.
import json
import time
from datetime import datetime, timezone
class MockSecretManager:
"""Minimal mock of GCP Secret Manager access/version behavior."""
def __init__(self):
self._secrets = {}
self._access_log = []
def create_secret(self, secret_id: str, payload: str) -> dict:
…
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 Build a Chainable Filter Helper in Python
A beginner-friendly dataclass helper that chains filters, uniqueness, and slicing on any sequence, returning a plain list at the end.
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Callable, Iterator, Sequence, TypeVar
T = TypeVar("T")
@dataclass
class FilterAssistant:
"""Beginner-friendly helper to filter any collection."""
data: Sequence[T]
def where(self, predicate: Callable[[T], bool]) -> "FilterAssistant":
return …
How to Initialize Sentry SDK with a Mock DSN in Python
Initialize the Sentry SDK in Python with a mock DSN to test error tracking without sending real events, then verify the DSN configuration.
import sentry_sdk
# Initialize Sentry SDK with a mock DSN (no real events will be sent)
sentry_sdk.init(
dsn="https://mock-public@mock-host/mock-project",
traces_sample_rate=1.0,
environment="development",
)
# Capture a test message to confirm SDK is configured
sentry_sdk.capture_message("Test message fr…
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 _…
pytest mark slow skip integration
Uses pytest markers to select fast tests, skip unfinished ones, and run integration checks with verbose output.
import pytest
def test_fast():
assert 1 + 1 == 2
@pytest.mark.slow
def test_slow():
import time
time.sleep(1)
assert 5 * 5 == 25
@pytest.mark.skip(reason="Not ready for production")
def test_skipped():
assert 2 + 2 == 5
@pytest.mark.integration
def test_integration():
database = {"users": […
How to Wait for the First Future to Complete in Python
Use concurrent.futures.wait with FIRST_COMPLETED to pause until any task finishes and inspect the remaining pending futures.
import concurrent.futures
import time
def task(name, delay):
time.sleep(delay)
return f"{name} done"
if __name__ == "__main__":
with concurrent.futures.ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=3) as executor:
futures = [
executor.submit(task, "task1", 2),
executor.submit(task, "ta…
How to spawn multiple worker processes in Python with multiprocessing.Process
Spawns three separate worker processes using multiprocessing.Process, runs them concurrently, and waits for all to finish before printing a completion message.
import multiprocessing
import time
def worker(name):
print(f"Worker {name} started")
time.sleep(1)
print(f"Worker {name} finished")
return name
if __name__ == "__main__":
processes = []
for i in range(3):
p = multiprocessing.Process(target=worker, args=(i,))
processes.append(p…
How to freeze time in Python tests with freezegun
Use the freezegun decorator to freeze datetime.now() at a fixed timestamp so tests that depend on current time run deterministically.
from datetime import datetime
from freezegun import freeze_time
@freeze_time("2024-01-15 12:30:00")
def test_frozen_time():
now = datetime.now()
return now
if __name__ == "__main__":
result = test_frozen_time()
print(result)
How to Build an MVP Presenter View Mock in Python
A minimal MVP (Model-View-Presenter) mock showing a Presenter controlling a SlideDeck model with slide navigation and typed state via dataclasses.
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import List
@dataclass
class SlideDeck:
title: str
slides: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
current_index: int = 0
def next_slide(self) -> str:
if self.current_index < len(self.slides) - 1:
self.current_index += 1
…
Python MVC Pattern Example (Model-View-Controller)
A minimal, runnable Model-View-Controller (MVC) example in pure Python that separates data, presentation, and logic.
class Model:
def __init__(self):
self.data = {"title": "Initial Title", "content": "Initial Content"}
def get_data(self):
return self.data
def update_data(self, title=None, content=None):
if title:
self.data["title"] = title
if content:
self.data["c…
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