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Extract Data from Strings in Python: Beginner's Guide
A beginner-friendly helper that splits a comma-separated string into a list, shows word count, and extracts the first and last words using Python's split() and join() methods.
text = "python,string,extract,beginner"
words = text.split(",")
print("Full text:", text)
print("Word count:", len(words))
print("First word:", words[0])
print("Last word:", words[-1])
joined = " | ".join(words)
print("Joined with separator:", joined)How to Mask Credit Card Middle Digits in Python
Mask the middle digits of credit card numbers in a string, keeping only the first 8 and last 4 digits, using regular expressions.
import re
def mask_credit_card(text: str) -> str:
pattern = re.compile(r'(\d{4}[-\s]?)(\d{4}[-\s]?)(\d{4}[-\s]?)(\d{4})')
return pattern.sub(lambda m: m.group(1) + m.group(2) + '****' + m.group(4), text)
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = "Card: 1234-5678-9012-3456 and 1111 2222 3333 4444"
print(mas…Truncate List Keeping Last N Elements in Python
Return a new list containing only the last N elements from a sequence, handling edge cases like zero or oversized counts.
def truncate(seq, keep_last_n):
"""Return a new list keeping only the last n elements."""
if keep_last_n <= 0:
return []
return list(seq)[-keep_last_n:]
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60]
print(truncate(data, 3))
print(truncate(data, 0))
print(truncate(data…How to Use a Lambda Sorting Key in Python
Sort a list of strings by their last letter using a lambda function as the sorting key.
def get_last_letter(word):
return word[-1]
words = ["banana", "apple", "cherry", "date", "elderberry"]
if __name__ == "__main__":
sorted_words = sorted(words, key=get_last_letter)
print(sorted_words)How to Assert Preconditions with Descriptive Messages in Python
Use Python's assert statement with a custom message to validate function preconditions and fail fast with clear diagnostics.
def divide(dividend, divisor):
assert divisor != 0, f"Divisor must be non-zero, got {divisor!r}"
return dividend / divisor
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(divide(10, 2))
try:
divide(10, 0)
except AssertionError as e:
print(f"AssertionError: {e}")How to Record Last N Errors with a Ring Buffer in Python
Use collections.deque with maxlen to keep only the most recent N error messages while discarding older entries automatically.
import collections
class ErrorRecorder:
def __init__(self, size):
self.buffer = collections.deque(maxlen=size)
def record_error(self, message):
self.buffer.append(message)
def get_errors(self):
return list(self.buffer)
if __name__ == "__main__":
recorder = ErrorRecorder(3)
…How to Serialize an Exception to a JSON-Safe Dict in Python
Convert any Python exception into a JSON-safe dictionary with type, message, and the last few traceback lines for logging.
import json
import traceback
from typing import Any
def exception_to_dict(exc: Exception) -> dict[str, Any]:
"""Convert an exception into a JSON-safe dictionary."""
return {
"type": type(exc).__name__,
"message": str(exc),
"traceback": traceback.format_exc().strip().split("\n")[-3:],
…How to Convert Data Types in Python with a Helper Class
This code defines a beginner-friendly OOP helper class for common data conversions like string to list, list to dict, JSON string, and CSV row, with an advanced subclass for numeric casting.
class DataConverter:
"""A beginner-friendly helper class for common data conversions."""
def __init__(self, data):
self.data = data
def to_list(self):
"""Convert string data (comma-separated) to a list."""
if isinstance(self.data, str):
return [item.strip() for…Find the Last Index Where a Condition Is True in Python
This code scans a sequence from the end and returns the index of the last element that satisfies a given condition, or -1 if none do.
def last_index_where(sequence, condition):
"""Return the index of the last element in sequence that satisfies condition."""
for i in range(len(sequence) - 1, -1, -1):
if condition(sequence[i]):
return i
return -1
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [1, 4, 7, 2, 9, 5, 8, 3]
is_…How to Implement a Moving Average from a Data Stream in Python
Implement a MovingAverage class using a deque and running sum to compute the average of the last k values from a continuous data stream.
from collections import deque
class MovingAverage:
def __init__(self, size):
self.size = size
self.queue = deque()
self.window_sum = 0
def next(self, val):
self.queue.append(val)
self.window_sum += val
if len(self.queue) > self.size:
self.window_su…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 Remove Duplicates in Python Preserving Order
Removes duplicate items from a list while keeping the first occurrence order intact using a set for fast membership checks.
def remove_duplicates_preserving_order(items):
seen = set()
result = []
for item in items:
if item not in seen:
seen.add(item)
result.append(item)
return result
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = [3, 1, 2, 1, 3, 4, 2, 5]
unique_items = remove_duplicates_preserv…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)How to Build an In-Memory Vector Store in Python
Build a lightweight in-memory vector store using a Python dict and cosine similarity for fast nearest-neighbor searches.
import math
from typing import Dict, List, Optional
class InMemoryVectorStore:
def __init__(self) -> None:
self.vectors: Dict[str, List[float]] = {}
self.index: Dict[str, List[str]] = {} # query -> list of ids sorted by similarity
def add(self, vector_id: str, vector: List[float]) -> None:
…How to Filter Toxic Keywords in Python
Filter toxic keywords from text by replacing each occurrence with asterisks, useful as a basic guardrail for LLM inputs.
TOXIC_KEYWORDS = ["insult", "threat", "hate", "violence", "spam"]
def guardrails_filter(text: str, keywords: list[str] | None = None) -> str:
"""Filter out toxic keywords from the given text.
Args:
text: The input text to filter.
keywords: Optional keyword list. Defaults to TOXIC_KEYWORDS.
…How to Keep Last K Turns in a Memory Buffer in Python
A TurnBuffer class using deque with maxlen to keep only the most recent k conversation turns in memory for LLM context.
from collections import deque
class TurnBuffer:
def __init__(self, k):
self.k = k
self.turns = deque(maxlen=k)
def add(self, turn):
self.turns.append(turn)
def last_k(self):
return list(self.turns)
if __name__ == "__main__":
buffer = TurnBuffer(3)
buffer.add("tu…How to Tail and Colorize Error Lines in Python
Reads the last N lines of a log file and prints error lines in red using ANSI color codes.
import sys
import time
from pathlib import Path
def tail_colorize(filename: str, lines: int = 20) -> None:
"""Read last N lines of a file, printing errors in red."""
path = Path(filename)
if not path.exists():
print(f"File '{filename}' not found.", file=sys.stderr)
return
# Read last …Port Scan Localhost Common Ports in Python
Scan common localhost ports (HTTP, HTTPS, SSH, FTP, and more) with a fast socket-based Python script that prints an open/closed status table.
import socket
from datetime import datetime
COMMON_PORTS = {
80: "HTTP",
443: "HTTPS",
22: "SSH",
21: "FTP",
25: "SMTP",
3306: "MySQL",
5432: "PostgreSQL"
}
def scan_port(port):
sock = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
sock.settimeout(0.1)
try:
resu…How to Deduplicate Events with At-Least-Once Delivery in Python
Implements an exactly-once processing pattern for at-least-once event delivery by tracking seen event IDs in a set, skipping duplicates.
seen_ids = set()
def process_event(event_id: str, payload: dict) -> dict:
"""Process an event exactly once, ignoring duplicates."""
if event_id in seen_ids:
return {"status": "duplicate", "event_id": event_id}
seen_ids.add(event_id)
return {"status": "processed", "event_id": event_id, **payloa…How to Track Checkpoint Offset After Batch Commit in Python
A batch processor that tracks the last successfully committed offset after processing records in batches, advancing the checkpoint only when each batch commits successfully.
import json
from typing import Any
class BatchProcessor:
"""Tracks checkpoint offset after committing batches."""
def __init__(self, batch_size: int = 3):
self.batch_size = batch_size
self.offset = 0 # last successfully committed offset (exclusive)
self.total_committed = 0
def …Amend Last Commit Message in Python
This script uses subprocess to run `git commit --amend` and update the most recent commit's message in your repository.
import subprocess
import sys
def amend_last_commit_message(new_message: str) -> None:
"""Change the message of the most recent commit."""
result = subprocess.run(
["git", "commit", "--amend", "-m", new_message],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
check=False,
)
if result.…How to List Changed Files in the Last Git Commit with Python
Runs `git diff --name-only HEAD~1 HEAD` via subprocess to list the names of files changed in the most recent commit.
import subprocess
def list_changed_files():
result = subprocess.run(
["git", "diff", "--name-only", "HEAD~1", "HEAD"],
capture_output=True,
text=True,
check=True
)
files = result.stdout.strip().splitlines()
return files
if __name__ == "__main__":
changed = list_cha…How to Squash Commits Range into One in Python
A mock script that displays the last N git commits as a single squashed commit, showing original commit subjects.
import subprocess
import re
def squash_last_commits(count):
"""Mock squashing the last N commits into one by display."""
git_log = subprocess.run(
["git", "log", f"-{count}", "--pretty=format:%h %s"],
capture_output=True, text=True
)
if git_log.returncode != 0:
return "Git comm…Merge branch no ff mock in Python
Simulate a Git non-fast-forward merge in Python, producing a synthetic merge commit log for branches with differing SHAs.
class MergeResult:
def __init__(self, base, branch):
self.base = base
self.branch = branch
self.commit_log = []
self.merged = False
def simulate_merge(self):
"""Simulate a 'no-ff' merge by creating a new commit that references both branches."""
if self.base == s…Browse by section
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