Reference library

Python Code Samples

Easy snippets you can copy, study, and run in the browser editor.

22 matches
Functions & basics easy

Build a Context Manager in Python with contextlib.contextmanager

Create a reusable context manager that safely opens and closes files using the contextlib contextmanager decorator.

context manager contextlib file handling
Python
from contextlib import contextmanager

@contextmanager
def managed_file(filename, mode='r'):
    """Context manager that opens and closes a file safely."""
    file = open(filename, mode)
    yield file
    file.close()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Write a sample file
    with managed_file("sample.txt", "w") as f…
14 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

Cache expensive function with lru_cache in Python

Use functools.lru_cache to memoize an expensive recursive function and show the dramatic speedup on repeated calls.

lru_cache caching decorators
Python
from functools import lru_cache
import time


@lru_cache(maxsize=128)
def expensive_operation(n):
    """Simulate an expensive Fibonacci-like calculation."""
    if n < 2:
        return n
    return expensive_operation(n - 1) + expensive_operation(n - 2)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    # First call (uncached) - take…
15 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

Create a retry decorator with max attempts in Python

A decorator that retries a function up to a specified number of times when it raises an exception, with an optional delay between attempts.

decorator retry error-handling
Python
import functools
import time


def retry(max_attempts, delay=0.1):
    """Retry a function up to max_attempts times on exception."""
    def decorator(func):
        @functools.wraps(func)
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            for attempt in range(1, max_attempts + 1):
                try:
                …
12 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

How to Build a Simple Decorator That Logs Function Calls in Python

This code shows how to create a reusable decorator that logs each function call, including arguments, return value, and execution time.

decorator logging functools
Python
import functools
import time

def log_calls(func):
    @functools.wraps(func)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        print(f"Calling {func.__name__} with args={args}, kwargs={kwargs}")
        start = time.time()
        result = func(*args, **kwargs)
        end = time.time()
        print(f"{func.__name__} return…
11 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

How to Create a Timing Decorator in Python

A Python decorator that measures and prints the execution time of any function using time.perf_counter.

decorator timing perf_counter
Python
import time
from functools import wraps


def timing_decorator(func):
    @wraps(func)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        start = time.perf_counter()
        result = func(*args, **kwargs)
        end = time.perf_counter()
        elapsed = end - start
        print(f"{func.__name__} took {elapsed:.6f} seconds"…
11 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

How to Use singledispatch for Type-Based Overloading in Python

This code demonstrates Python's functools.singledispatch decorator to create functions that behave differently based on the type of their first argument.

singledispatch overloading functools
Python
from functools import singledispatch

@singledispatch
def process(value):
    return f"Unknown type: {type(value).__name__}"

@process.register(int)
def _(value):
    return f"Integer: {value * 2}"

@process.register(str)
def _(value):
    return f"String: {value.upper()}"

@process.register(list)
def _(value):
    re…
12 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

How to Write a Python Decorator with functools.wraps

Create a decorator that wraps a function while preserving its metadata using functools.wraps.

decorator functools wraps
Python
from functools import wraps


def logger(func):
    @wraps(func)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        print(f"Calling {func.__name__}")
        return func(*args, **kwargs)
    return wrapper


@logger
def greet(name):
    """Return a friendly greeting."""
    return f"Hello, {name}!"


if __name__ == "__main__":…
12 0 Open
OOP & classes easy

Composition over Inheritance: How to Build a Wallet Account in Python

Demonstrates composition by wrapping a WalletAccount class in an AuditedWallet decorator-like class to add behavior without changing the original class.

composition design-patterns oop
Python
class WalletAccount:
    def __init__(self, owner, balance=0.0):
        self.owner = owner
        self.balance = balance

    def deposit(self, amount):
        if amount <= 0:
            raise ValueError("Deposit must be positive")
        self.balance += amount
        return self.balance

    def withdraw(self, …
13 0 Open
OOP & classes easy

How to Create Static Methods in a Python Class

Shows how to define and call static methods inside a class using @staticmethod, with utility functions that don't need instance or class state.

static-method oop class
Python
class MathUtils:
    """Utility class demonstrating static methods."""
    
    @staticmethod
    def add(a, b):
        """Return the sum of two numbers."""
        return a + b
    
    @staticmethod
    def multiply(a, b):
        """Return the product of two numbers."""
        return a * b
    
    @staticmethod
…
14 0 Open
OOP & classes easy

How to Implement the Decorator Pattern in Python to Add Behavior

This Python code demonstrates the decorator pattern by wrapping a function to add logging behavior without modifying the original function.

decorator pattern logging
Python
import functools

def logger(func):
    @functools.wraps(func)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        print(f"Calling {func.__name__} with {args} {kwargs}")
        result = func(*args, **kwargs)
        print(f"{func.__name__} returned {result}")
        return result
    return wrapper

@logger
def add(a, b):
   …
11 0 Open
Modern tooling easy

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.

pytest parametrize testing
Python
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 _…
15 0 Open
Concurrency & performance easy

How to Use functools.cache for Unbounded Memoization in Python

Speed up repeated recursive calls by memoizing function results with Python's built-in functools.cache decorator.

functools memoization performance
Python
```python
import functools
import time


@functools.cache
def fib(n):
    if n < 2:
        return n
    return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    start = time.perf_counter()
    result = fib(30)
    elapsed = time.perf_counter() - start

    print(f"fib(30) = {result}")
    print(f"computed in {…
14 0 Open
Concurrency & performance easy

How to Vectorize a Function with a Pure Python Fallback

Create a decorator that calls a scalar function directly for a single value and routes list inputs to a pure-Python fallback for vectorized processing without NumPy.

vectorization decorator fallback
Python
import math


def fallback_vectorize(func, fallback=None):
    """Vectorize a scalar function with a pure-Python fallback for lists."""
    if fallback is None:
        fallback = lambda x: [func(i) for i in x]

    def wrapped(*args):
        if len(args) == 1 and isinstance(args[0], (list, tuple)):
            retur…
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing easy

How to Parametrize pytest Tests with Multiple Input Cases in Python

This code shows how to use pytest's @pytest.mark.parametrize decorator to run the same test function across multiple input-output combinations, checking that an add function behaves correctly for each case.

pytest parametrize testing
Python
import pytest

def add(a, b):
    return a + b


@pytest.mark.parametrize("a,b,expected", [
    (1, 2, 3),
    (5, 5, 10),
    (-1, 1, 0),
    (0, 0, 0),
    (10, -3, 7),
])
def test_add(a, b, expected):
    assert add(a, b) == expected


if __name__ == "__main__":
    pytest.main([__file__, "-v"])
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing easy

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.

freezegun datetime testing
Python
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)
15 0 Open
System design patterns easy

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.

decorators unittest.mock metrics
Python
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…
15 0 Open
API design & gRPC easy

How to Implement RBAC Permission Checks with a Route Decorator in Python

Build a reusable Python decorator that checks a user's role against allowed roles and raises a custom PermissionError when access is denied.

decorator rbac permissions
Python
from functools import wraps
from enum import Enum

class Role(Enum):
    ADMIN = "admin"
    MODERATOR = "moderator"
    USER = "user"

class PermissionError(Exception):
    pass

def require_role(*allowed_roles):
    def decorator(func):
        @wraps(func)
        def wrapper(user_role, *args, **kwargs):
          …
13 0 Open
Caching & Redis easy

How to Cache Function Results with Redis in Python

A RedisCache helper class caches function results using a decorator, with JSON serialization and TTL-based expiry.

redis caching decorator
Python
import redis
import json
from functools import wraps

class RedisCache:
    def __init__(self, host='localhost', port=6379, db=0, ttl=60):
        self.client = redis.Redis(host=host, port=port, db=db, decode_responses=True)
        self.ttl = ttl

    def cached(self, key_prefix):
        def decorator(func):
       …
14 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

Build a Rate Limiter Decorator in Python

This code defines a reusable rate limiter decorator that caps function calls within a sliding time window using a deque and monotonic time.

rate-limiting decorator time
Python
import time
from collections import deque


def rate_limiter(max_calls: int, period: float):
    calls = deque()

    def decorator(func):
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            now = time.monotonic()
            while calls and now - calls[0] >= period:
                calls.popleft()
            if len(ca…
13 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

How to Inject Random Latency for Chaos Testing in Python

Mock unreliable services by wrapping functions with a decorator that adds random network-like delays before execution.

chaos-engineering decorators latency
Python
import random
import time
from functools import wraps

def inject_latency(func):
    @wraps(func)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        latency = random.uniform(0.1, 0.5)
        print(f"Injecting {latency:.3f}s latency...")
        time.sleep(latency)
        return func(*args, **kwargs)
    return wrapper

@inje…
12 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

How to Retry on Specific Exception Tuples in Python

A decorator-based retry pattern that retries a function only when it raises exceptions specified in a tuple, with configurable retries and delay.

retry decorator exceptions
Python
import time
import random
from unittest.mock import patch


def retry_on_exceptions(retries=3, exceptions=(ValueError,), delay=0.1):
    def decorator(func):
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            for attempt in range(retries):
                try:
                    return func(*args, **kwargs)
          …
15 0 Open
Production deployment patterns easy

How to hide incomplete mock features with a Python feature toggle

A simple decorator-based feature toggle that returns a placeholder when a mock feature is disabled, so incomplete code can ship safely.

feature-toggle decorator mock-data
Python
import functools


class FeatureToggle:
    def __init__(self, enabled=False):
        self.enabled = enabled

    def feature(self, func=None):
        """Decorator to conditionally enable a feature."""
        if func is None:
            return self.feature

        @functools.wraps(func)
        def wrapper(*args,…
12 0 Open

Browse by section

Each section groups closely related Python snippets.

Guide: free Python code samples library

Copy-ready Python snippets for learners and developers

PythonSkillset code samples are short, focused examples organised by topic and difficulty. Every snippet is server-rendered HTML — readable by search engines and easy to copy. Open any sample, read the notes, copy the code, then press Try in editor to run it in the browser with Pyodide.

How to use this library

  1. Pick a topic section — strings, lists, files, functions, and more
  2. Open a sample, read How it works, and copy the code block
  3. Run it in the IDE, tweak values, then take a related quiz or tutorial lesson

Samples vs tutorials and challenges

Samples are quick reference — one concept per page. For step-by-step teaching, use our Python tutorials. To test yourself, try quizzes or coding challenges. Clean up style with the Python formatter.