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Serialize Python dict to JSON with custom default for datetime
Convert a Python dict containing datetime and set objects into JSON by providing a custom default serializer.
import json
from datetime import datetime
def custom_serializer(obj):
if isinstance(obj, datetime):
return obj.isoformat()
if isinstance(obj, set):
return list(obj)
return str(obj)
data = {
"name": "Alice",
"created_at": datetime(2024, 3, 15, 10, 30, 45),
"tags": {"python", "j…
Validate dictionary data with sets in Python
Validate a dictionary against required keys and allowed value sets, returning a list of validation errors.
def validate_data(data, required_keys, allowed_values=None):
"""
Validate a dictionary against required keys and optional allowed value sets.
Returns a list of validation errors (empty list if valid).
"""
errors = []
# Check for missing required keys
missing = set(required_keys) - set(…
How to Build a Fluent Interface with the Builder Pattern in Python
Learn to implement a fluent builder pattern in Python by chaining methods that return self, enabling readable object construction.
class Pizza:
def __init__(self):
self.size = None
self.toppings = []
self.crust = None
def set_size(self, size):
self.size = size
return self
def add_topping(self, topping):
self.toppings.append(topping)
return self
def set_crust(self, crust):
…
How to Call a Parent Class __init__ with super() in Python
Shows how to chain __init__ calls through a class hierarchy using super(), so each class sets its own attributes while reusing the parent's initialization logic.
class Animal:
def __init__(self, name, species):
self.name = name
self.species = species
print(f"Animal init: {self.name}, {self.species}")
class Mammal(Animal):
def __init__(self, name, species, fur_color):
super().__init__(name, species)
self.fur_color = fur_color
…
How to Implement a Queue Class in Python Using deque
Build a FIFO queue class in Python backed by the collections.deque container with enqueue, dequeue, peek, and size methods.
from collections import deque
class Queue:
def __init__(self):
self._items = deque()
def enqueue(self, item):
self._items.append(item)
def dequeue(self):
if self.is_empty():
raise IndexError("dequeue from empty queue")
return self._items.popleft()
…
How to Validate User Input with a Dataclass in Python
A dataclass stores name, age, and email, and a validator class checks each field, returning a dictionary of boolean results.
from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass
class UserInput:
name: str
age: int
email: str
def is_valid_name(self) -> bool:
return bool(self.name.strip()) and len(self.name.strip()) >= 2
def is_valid_age(self) -> bool:
return isinstance(self.age, int) and 0 < self.age < 150
…
How to define a custom exception class in Python with an error code attribute
Create a custom exception class with extra attributes like an error code, then raise and catch it in a try/except block.
class UserNotFoundError(Exception):
def __init__(self, user_id, error_code=404):
self.user_id = user_id
self.error_code = error_code
super().__init__(f"User with ID {user_id} was not found (error code: {error_code})")
def find_user(user_id, users_db):
if user_id not in users_db:
…
Validate dataclass fields with __post_init__ in Python
Add custom validation to a Python dataclass inside __post_init__, raising ValueError or TypeError for invalid field values.
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import Optional
@dataclass
class Product:
name: str
price: float
quantity: int = 1
category: Optional[str] = None
def __post_init__(self):
if not self.name or not isinstance(self.name, str):
raise ValueError("name must be a…
Find Elements in One Python List but Not Another
Return a new list containing only the elements from list A that are not present in list B, preserving duplicates and order.
def difference_elements(a, b):
"""Return elements present in list a but not in list b."""
set_b = set(b)
return [item for item in a if item not in set_b]
if __name__ == "__main__":
a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 3, 2]
b = [2, 4, 6]
result = difference_elements(a, b)
print(f"A: {a}")
print(f"B: {b…
Find Missing Number in Python Sequence 1 to N
Find the missing number from a list containing numbers 1 to N using the arithmetic sum formula.
def find_missing_number(nums, n):
expected_sum = n * (n + 1) // 2
actual_sum = sum(nums)
return expected_sum - actual_sum
if __name__ == "__main__":
n = 10
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10]
missing = find_missing_number(numbers, n)
print(f"The missing number is: {missing}")
How to Build a Coordinate Grid with Nested Loops in Python
Generate a 2D list of (row, col) coordinate pairs using nested loops and return the grid structure.
def build_coordinate_grid(rows, cols):
"""Build a 2D grid of (row, col) coordinates using nested loops."""
grid = []
for r in range(rows):
row = []
for c in range(cols):
row.append((r, c))
grid.append(row)
return grid
if __name__ == "__main__":
grid = build_coo…
How to Compute the Cartesian Product of Two Lists in Python
Generates all ordered pairs from two lists using itertools.product and prints each combination.
from itertools import product
# Two small input lists
list_a = [1, 2, 3]
list_b = ["x", "y"]
# Compute the Cartesian product
result = list(product(list_a, list_b))
# Display the result
print("Cartesian product of", list_a, "and", list_b, "is:")
for pair in result:
print(pair)
How to Find Gaps Between Sorted Intervals in Python
This code finds gap ranges between sorted intervals using pairwise iteration, returning ranges where no interval covers.
from itertools import pairwise
def find_gaps(intervals):
intervals = sorted(intervals)
gaps = []
for prev, curr in pairwise(intervals):
if prev[1] < curr[0]:
gaps.append((prev[1] + 1, curr[0] - 1))
return gaps
if __name__ == "__main__":
intervals = [(1, 3), (5, 7), (10, 12), (…
How to partition a list into n nearly equal parts in Python
Divide a list into n contiguous chunks of nearly equal size using an average-length calculation that distributes the remainder evenly.
def partition(lst, n):
"""Partition a list into n nearly equal contiguous parts."""
if n <= 0:
raise ValueError("n must be positive")
if not lst:
return [[] for _ in range(n)]
parts = []
avg = len(lst) / n
last_idx = 0.0
while last_idx < len(lst):
end_idx =…
Merge Two Sorted Arrays Without Extra Space in Python
Merge two sorted arrays in-place from the end, using the trailing zeros in the first array to avoid extra space.
def merge_sorted(arr1, arr2):
m, n = len(arr1), len(arr2)
i, j = m - 1, n - 1
while j >= 0:
if i >= 0 and arr1[i] > arr2[j]:
arr1[i + j + 1] = arr1[i]
i -= 1
else:
arr1[i + j + 1] = arr2[j]
j -= 1
return arr1
if __name__ == "__main__":
…
Move Zeroes to End in Python Maintaining Order
In-place algorithm that moves all zeroes to the end of a list while preserving the relative order of non-zero elements.
def move_zeroes(nums):
non_zero_index = 0
for i in range(len(nums)):
if nums[i] != 0:
nums[non_zero_index], nums[i] = nums[i], nums[non_zero_index]
non_zero_index += 1
return nums
if __name__ == "__main__":
example = [0, 1, 0, 3, 12]
result = move_zeroes(example)
…
Pair Elements with Next Cyclic Neighbor in Python
Create tuples pairing every element with its next element, wrapping around to the first element for the last one.
def cyclic_pairs(lst):
if not lst:
return []
return [(lst[i], lst[(i + 1) % len(lst)]) for i in range(len(lst))]
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
result = cyclic_pairs(sample)
print(result)
Stable merge two lists by custom comparator in Python
Merge two lists into one sorted output using a custom comparator while maintaining the original order of equal elements.
from functools import cmp_to_key
def compare(x, y):
# Custom comparator: sorts by length first, then by original index for stability
if len(x) != len(y):
return len(x) - len(y)
return 0 # Equal keys preserve original order (stable)
def merge_stable(left, right, cmp_func):
result = []
i =…
Stable sort preserving equal order demo in Python
Demonstrates Python's stable sort, showing that elements with equal sort keys retain their original relative order.
from operator import itemgetter
def stable_sort_demo():
data = [(3, "first"), (1, "second"), (3, "third"), (1, "fourth"), (2, "fifth")]
print("Original:", data)
# Sort by first element (the tuple's first value), keeping relative order of equal items
sorted_data = sorted(data, key=itemgetter(0))
…
Drop n items then yield rest generator
A generator that skips the first n items of an iterable and then yields the remaining items one by one.
def drop(n, items):
"""Yield every item except the first n from items."""
it = iter(items)
for _ in range(n):
next(it, None) # skip first n items
yield from it
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
result = list(drop(2, numbers))
print(result)
How to Create a Pairwise Generator with zip and tee in Python
Build a memory-efficient generator that yields successive overlapping pairs from any iterable using zip and tee.
from itertools import tee
def pairwise(iterable):
"""Yield successive overlapping pairs from iterable."""
a, b = tee(iterable)
next(b, None)
return zip(a, b)
if __name__ == "__main__":
values = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
print(list(pairwise(values)))
print(list(pairwise("hello")))
How to Implement takewhile Generator in Python
A generator that yields items from an iterable until a condition fails, like itertools.takewhile.
def takewhile(predicate, iterable):
for item in iterable:
if not predicate(item):
break
yield item
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 3]
result = list(takewhile(lambda x: x < 4, numbers))
print(result)
How to Merge Multiple Iterables with a Generator in Python
This code defines a generator function that 'chains' or merges multiple iterables into a single iterator, which is then converted to a list.
def chain(*iterables):
for iterable in iterables:
yield from iterable
def main():
list1 = [1, 2, 3]
tuple1 = (4, 5)
set1 = {6, 7}
string1 = "89"
result = list(chain(list1, tuple1, set1, string1))
print(result)
if __name__ == "__main__":
main()
List Comprehension to Filter Even Numbers in Python
Creates a new list containing only the even numbers from an existing list using a list comprehension with a condition.
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]
even_numbers = [n for n in numbers if n % 2 == 0]
print(f"Original: {numbers}")
print(f"Even numbers: {even_numbers}")
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