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How to Use defaultdict(list) to Group Words by First Letter in Python
This code groups a list of words by their first letter using a defaultdict with a list factory, then prints each group sorted by initial.
from collections import defaultdict
def group_by_initial(words):
groups = defaultdict(list)
for word in words:
groups[word[0].upper()].append(word)
return dict(groups)
if __name__ == "__main__":
words = ["apple", "banana", "apricot", "blueberry", "cherry"]
result = group_by_initial(words)…
How to convert string values to int or float in Python dicts
Recursively convert string values in nested dicts and lists to ints or floats when possible, leaving other strings untouched.
def coerce_str_values(data):
"""Recursively convert string values that look like ints or floats."""
if isinstance(data, dict):
return {key: coerce_str_values(val) for key, val in data.items()}
elif isinstance(data, list):
return [coerce_str_values(item) for item in data]
elif isinstance…
Filtering data with a Python class helper
A beginner-friendly DataFilter class that filters lists of dictionaries by exact match, greater-than, and substring conditions.
class DataFilter:
"""A beginner-friendly helper to filter lists of dictionaries."""
def __init__(self, data):
self.data = data
def filter_by(self, key, value):
"""Return items where data[key] == value."""
return [item for item in self.data if item.get(key) == value]
…
Graph Class with Adjacency Dict in Python
Build an undirected graph class using a dictionary of adjacency lists with methods to add vertices, edges, remove edges, and query neighbors.
class Graph:
def __init__(self):
self.adjacency = {}
def add_vertex(self, vertex):
if vertex not in self.adjacency:
self.adjacency[vertex] = []
def add_edge(self, u, v):
self.add_vertex(u)
self.add_vertex(v)
self.adjacency[u].append(v)
self.adja…
How to Create a Data Formatter Class in Python
A beginner-friendly helper class to format lists, dictionaries, and stored records into readable strings.
class DataFormatter:
"""Helper class for beginners to format common data types."""
def __init__(self, name="data"):
self.name = name
self.records = []
def add_record(self, key, value):
"""Add a key-value record to the formatter."""
self.records.append({"key": key, …
Find Common Elements in List of Lists in Python
Return elements that appear in every sublist of a nested list, preserving duplicates with Counter intersection.
from collections import Counter
def common_elements(list_of_lists):
"""Return elements present in every sublist."""
if not list_of_lists:
return []
counts = Counter(list_of_lists[0])
for sublist in list_of_lists[1:]:
counts &= Counter(sublist)
return list(counts.elements())
if _…
Generate Pascal's Triangle Rows in Python
Builds Pascal's triangle as a list of rows, where each inner value is the sum of the two values above it.
def generate_pascals_triangle(rows):
triangle = []
for row_num in range(rows):
row = [1] * (row_num + 1)
for col in range(1, row_num):
row[col] = triangle[row_num - 1][col - 1] + triangle[row_num - 1][col]
triangle.append(row)
return triangle
if __name__ == "__main__":
…
How to Add Two Lists Elementwise in Python
Add two equal-length lists element by element using a list comprehension with zip, returning a new list of summed values.
def elementwise_add(list1, list2):
return [a + b for a, b in zip(list1, list2)]
if __name__ == "__main__":
list_a = [1, 2, 3, 4]
list_b = [10, 20, 30, 40]
result = elementwise_add(list_a, list_b)
print(result)
How to Compare Two Lists Elementwise for Greater Flags in Python
Compare two equal-length lists element by element and return a list of booleans marking where list_a values are greater than list_b values.
def compare_lists_greater(list_a, list_b):
"""
Compare two lists elementwise and return a list of booleans
indicating whether each element in list_a is greater than the
corresponding element in list_b.
"""
if len(list_a) != len(list_b):
raise ValueError("Lists must have the same length"…
How to Compute Jaccard Similarity in Python
Compute the Jaccard similarity between two lists by converting them to sets and dividing the intersection size by the union size.
def jaccard_similarity(list1, list2):
set1 = set(list1)
set2 = set(list2)
intersection = set1 & set2
union = set1 | set2
if not union:
return 0.0
return len(intersection) / len(union)
if __name__ == "__main__":
a = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
b = [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
pri…
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 Compute the Dot Product of Two Lists in Python
Compute the dot product of two equal-length numeric lists using a generator expression with zip and sum.
def dot_product(list1, list2):
"""
Compute the dot product of two numeric lists.
The lists must have the same length.
"""
if len(list1) != len(list2):
raise ValueError("Lists must have the same length")
return sum(a * b for a, b in zip(list1, list2))
if __name__ == "__main__":
…
How to Flatten List of Dict Values in Python
This code flattens the values of a list of dictionaries into a single list, handling both list values and scalar values.
def flatten_dict_values(dicts):
flattened = []
for d in dicts:
for value in d.values():
if isinstance(value, list):
flattened.extend(value)
else:
flattened.append(value)
return flattened
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [
{"a": …
How to Implement a Recent Counter with a Deque in Python
Implements a RecentCounter class that uses a deque to count ping requests within the last 3000 milliseconds.
from collections import deque
import time
class RecentCounter:
def __init__(self):
self.hits = deque()
def ping(self, t: int) -> int:
self.hits.append(t)
while self.hits and self.hits[0] < t - 3000:
self.hits.popleft()
return len(self.hits)
if __name__ == "__mai…
How to Split a List by a Predicate into Two Lists in Python
Partition any Python list into two lists based on a predicate: items that match go into one list, everything else into the other.
from typing import Callable, List, TypeVar
T = TypeVar("T")
def split_by_predicate(items: List[T], predicate: Callable[[T], bool]) -> tuple[List[T], List[T]]:
matching = []
non_matching = []
for item in items:
if predicate(item):
matching.append(item)
else:
non_mat…
Reorder a List by Odd Even Indices in Python
Splits a list into two sublists based on 1-based index parity, then concatenates odd-indexed elements before even-indexed ones.
def reorder_by_odd_even(items):
"""Reorders a list so that elements at odd indices come first,
followed by elements at even indices (1-based).
Example: [0,1,2,3,4,5,6] -> [1,3,5,0,2,4,6]
"""
odds = [items[i] for i in range(1, len(items), 2)]
evens = [items[i] for i in range(0, len(items), …
Segregate Negative Numbers Before Positives in Python
Reorders a list so all negative numbers appear before non-negative numbers while preserving the original relative order of elements.
def segregate_negatives(numbers):
"""Segregate negatives before positives without altering relative order."""
negatives = [n for n in numbers if n < 0]
positives = [n for n in numbers if n >= 0]
return negatives + positives
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = [3, -1, 4, -5, 2, -9, 0]
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 =…
Flatten a Nested List in Python (Recursive Generator)
Recursively flatten arbitrarily nested lists into a single-level list using both a function and a generator with `yield from`.
def flatten(nested_list):
"""Recursively flatten a nested list into a single-level list."""
result = []
for item in nested_list:
if isinstance(item, list):
result.extend(flatten(item))
else:
result.append(item)
return result
def flatten_generator(nested_list):
…
Cache LLM Completions by Hashing the Prompt in Python
A simple in-memory cache that stores LLM completions keyed by a SHA-256 hash of the prompt to avoid recomputing identical requests.
import hashlib
import json
class PromptCache:
def __init__(self):
self.cache = {}
def _hash_prompt(self, prompt: str) -> str:
return hashlib.sha256(prompt.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()
def get(self, prompt: str) -> str | None:
key = self._hash_prompt(prompt)
return self.ca…
Automate Tweeting New Blog Posts in Python
A mock script that fetches new blog posts from a CMS and tweets them via a simulated Twitter API, outputting JSON results.
import json
import time
from datetime import datetime
def fetch_new_blog_posts():
"""Mock function to simulate fetching latest blog posts from a CMS."""
return [
{
"id": 1,
"title": "Getting Started with Python",
"url": "https://blog.example.com/python-start",
…
Check Service Ping Status and Exit Code in Python
Ping a list of hosts, print OK/FAIL per host, and exit with a non-zero code when any host is unreachable.
import subprocess
import sys
SERVICES = [
"8.8.8.8",
"1.1.1.1",
"invalid-host",
]
def main():
failed = []
for host in SERVICES:
result = subprocess.run(
["ping", "-c", "1", "-W", "2", host],
stdout=subprocess.DEVNULL,
stderr=subprocess.DEVNULL,
…
How to Automatically Download Every Favicon from a List of Websites in Python
Download each website's favicon.ico file by constructing its URL, making a GET request, and saving the binary content locally.
import requests
from urllib.parse import urlparse
import os
websites = [
"https://www.google.com",
"https://www.github.com",
"https://www.stackoverflow.com"
]
def download_favicon(url):
parsed = urlparse(url)
favicon_url = f"{parsed.scheme}://{parsed.netloc}/favicon.ico"
response = requests.g…
How to Check Website Status Codes in Python
This script checks the HTTP status codes of multiple URLs concurrently using a thread pool and prints the results.
import requests
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor
URLS = [
"https://www.google.com",
"https://www.python.org",
"https://www.nonexistent-site-12345.com",
"https://www.github.com",
]
def check_status(url):
try:
response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
return url, resp…
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