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Interface Segregation with Fake Test Implementations in Python
Defines segregated abstract interfaces (Printer, Scanner) and uses a FakePrinter to record calls for unit testing without real resources.
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
class Printer(ABC):
@abstractmethod
def print_document(self, doc: str) -> str:
pass
class Scanner(ABC):
@abstractmethod
def scan_document(self) -> str:
pass
class MultiFunctionPrinter(Printer, Scanner):
def print_document(self, doc: str) -> …
Mock datetime with time-machine in Python
Use the time-machine library to travel to a fixed datetime when running tests or scripts, mocking datetime.utcnow().
from time_machine import travel
from datetime import datetime
@travel("2020-01-01 10:30:00")
def check_date():
return datetime.utcnow()
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(check_date())
Mock datetime.now to freeze time in Python
Use unittest.mock.patch to replace datetime.now with a fixed value so your code always sees the same time during tests.
from datetime import datetime
from unittest.mock import patch
def current_message():
now = datetime.now()
return f"Current time: {now:%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S}"
if __name__ == "__main__":
with patch("__main__.datetime") as mock_dt:
mock_dt.now.return_value = datetime(2024, 3, 15, 10, 30, 0)
prin…
Table-Driven Tests in Python (unittest)
Run a single unittest test against many input cases using a list of tuples and subTest.
import unittest
def add(a, b):
return a + b
class TestAddFunction(unittest.TestCase):
def test_add_with_table(self):
cases = [
(1, 2, 3),
(-1, 1, 0),
(0, 0, 0),
(2, -3, -1),
]
for x, y, expected in cases:
with self.subTest(x…
Builder pattern for mocking complex objects in Python
Use a fluent Builder to construct realistic mock objects with defaults, enabling readable test data setup.
class User:
def __init__(self):
self.name = "default"
self.age = 0
self.email = "unknown@example.com"
self.address = "unknown"
def __repr__(self):
return f"User(name={self.name!r}, age={self.age}, email={self.email!r}, address={self.address!r})"
class UserBuilder:
…
How to Mock Hexagonal Architecture Ports and Adapters in Python
Mock an email adapter in a hexagonal architecture with unittest.mock to test business logic in isolation.
from unittest.mock import Mock
class EmailService:
def send(self, recipient, message):
raise NotImplementedError
class OrderProcessor:
def __init__(self, email_service):
self.email_service = email_service
def process_order(self, order_id, customer_email):
# Business logic
…
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):
…
How to mock the domain center in an onion architecture in Python
Define a repository interface and an in-memory mock to test domain services without touching infrastructure.
from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Dict, List, Optional
@dataclass
class Order:
id: int
customer: str
items: List[str]
total: float
class OrderRepository(ABC):
@abstractmethod
def find_by_id(self, order_id: int) -> Optional[Order]:
…
Observer Pattern with Mock Metrics in Python
Implement the Observer pattern with a mock metrics collector to track state changes and verify notifications.
import unittest
from unittest.mock import Mock
class Subject:
def __init__(self):
self._state = 0
self._observers = []
def attach(self, observer):
self._observers.append(observer)
def set_state(self, value):
if value != self._state:
self._state = value
…
How to Mock HTTP 304 Responses with If-None-Match in Python
Spin up a local HTTP server that returns a 304 Not Modified when a request carries a matching ETag, useful for testing cache behavior.
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
from threading import Thread
import urllib.request
ETAG = '"abc123"'
BODY = b'{"status": "ok"}'
class MockServer(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
def do_GET(self):
if self.headers.get('If-None-Match') == ETAG:
self.send_response(304)
…
At Most Once Fire-and-Forget Mock in Python
A Python mock that enforces send() is called at most once and records the arguments for verification.
class FireForgetMock:
def __init__(self):
self._calls = 0
self._last_args = None
self._last_kwargs = None
def send(self, *args, **kwargs):
if self._calls > 0:
raise RuntimeError("send() called more than once")
self._calls += 1
self._last_args = args
…
Build a Streaming Messaging Helper in Python
Create a simple message stream class that stores recent messages, sends user messages, and retrieves history or latest messages with timestamps.
from collections import deque
from dataclasses import dataclass
from datetime import datetime
import time
@dataclass
class Message:
user: str
text: str
timestamp: str = ""
def __post_init__(self):
if not self.timestamp:
self.timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%H:%M:%S")
class…
How to Build a Mock Change Data Capture Event Stream in Python
Generate a deterministic list of mock CDC events with event IDs, stream positions, payloads, and timestamps for testing streaming pipelines.
from itertools import count
from random import choice, randint, seed
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
seed(42) # Make output deterministic
event_types = ["INSERT", "UPDATE", "DELETE"]
table_names = ["users", "orders", "products", "payments"]
counter = count(1)
def mock_cdc_event(stream_index: int) -> dict:
…
How to Mock MQTT Topic Subscriptions with QoS in Python
Build a lightweight MQTT client mock that tracks topic subscriptions with QoS levels and simulates wildcard message delivery.
import time
from collections import defaultdict
class MockMQTTClient:
def __init__(self):
self.subscriptions = defaultdict(list)
self.messages = []
def subscribe(self, topic, qos=0):
self.subscriptions[topic].append(qos)
print(f"Subscribed to '{topic}' with QoS {qos}")
…
How to Mock RabbitMQ Ack Nack Requeue in Python
A mock RabbitMQ channel and consumer that simulates ack, nack, and requeue handling for testing message processing logic without a broker.
import json
from collections import deque
class MockChannel:
def __init__(self):
self.acked = []
self.nacked = []
self.requeued = []
def basic_ack(self, delivery_tag):
self.acked.append(delivery_tag)
def basic_nack(self, delivery_tag, requeue=False):
self.nacked.…
How to Simulate a Micro-Batch Interval Trigger in Python
A dataclass-based mock that emits batch numbers at fixed intervals, mimicking a micro-batch streaming scheduler for testing and development.
import time
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import List, Callable
@dataclass
class MicroBatchTriggerMock:
batch_interval_seconds: float = 0.5
max_batches: int = 5
_batches_emitted: int = 0
_next_emit_time: float = field(init=False, default=0)
def start(self, on_batch: Callab…
Redis Pub/Sub Channel Subscribe Mock in Python
A lightweight in-memory mock of Redis pub/sub that lets you subscribe to channels, publish messages, and verify handler behavior in tests without a real Redis server.
class MockRedisPubSub:
def __init__(self):
self.channels = {}
def subscribe(self, channel):
if channel not in self.channels:
self.channels[channel] = []
return self.channels[channel]
def publish(self, channel, message):
if channel in self.channels:
…
How to Implement Namespaced Cache Keys for Tenant Isolation in Python
Build a tenant-aware cache wrapper that prefixes keys with tenant and namespace, and test it with mocks.
from keyvaluestore import SimpleCache
from unittest.mock import patch
class TenantCache(SimpleCache):
def __init__(self, tenant_id, namespace="default"):
super().__init__()
self.tenant_id = tenant_id
self.namespace = namespace
def _key(self, key):
return f"tenant:{self.tenant_…
How to Mock a Cache Key Schema Version Bump in Python
Show how to test a cache key schema bump by mocking the class-level version attribute with unittest.mock.
from unittest import mock
class VersionCache:
SCHEMA_VERSION = 1
def __init__(self, key_prefix="cache"):
self.key_prefix = key_prefix
def build_key(self, resource_id):
return f"{self.key_prefix}:schema-v{self.SCHEMA_VERSION}:{resource_id}"
def bump_schema(self):
# Simulated …
How to create a stable cache key from function arguments in Python
Generate a stable SHA-256 cache key from normalized function arguments, with keyword order normalized and tests using mocks.
import hashlib
import json
from unittest.mock import Mock
def make_cache_key(*args, **kwargs):
"""Normalize args/kwargs into a stable hash key for caching."""
normalized = {
"args": [repr(arg) for arg in args],
"kwargs": {key: repr(value) for key, value in sorted(kwargs.items())}
}
pa…
Redis GET SET EX TTL mock in Python
A thread-safe Python class mimicking Redis GET, SET with EX, and TTL commands for in-memory testing.
import time
import threading
from typing import Optional, Callable
class RedisTTLMock:
def __init__(self):
self._store: dict[str, tuple[str, float]] = {}
self._lock = threading.Lock()
def set(self, key: str, value: str, ex: Optional[int] = None) -> bool:
expiry = time.time() + ex if …
Redis INCR DECR Counter Mock in Python
Simulate Redis INCR and DECR commands with a Python class to test counter logic without a live Redis server.
class RedisCounter:
def __init__(self):
self._store = {}
def incr(self, key: str, amount: int = 1) -> int:
if key not in self._store:
self._store[key] = 0
self._store[key] += amount
return self._store[key]
def decr(self, key: str, amount: int = 1) -> int:
…
Redis SADD SMEMBERS Set Mock in Python
A lightweight mock of Redis SADD and SMEMBERS using Python sets for testing or local caching.
class RedisSetMock:
def __init__(self):
self.sets = {}
def sadd(self, key, *members):
if key not in self.sets:
self.sets[key] = set()
before = len(self.sets[key])
self.sets[key].update(members)
return len(self.sets[key]) - before
def smembers(self, key)…
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