Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

37 matches
Errors & debugging easy

Log to stderr with Python logging basicConfig

Configure Python's logging module to send all log messages to standard error (stderr) instead of the default stderr, with a readable timestamped format.

logging stderr debugging
Python
import logging

def main():
    logging.basicConfig(
        level=logging.DEBUG,
        format="%(asctime)s — %(name)s — %(levelname)s — %(message)s",
        stream=__import__("sys").stderr,
    )
    logger = logging.getLogger("example")
    logger.debug("Debug message")
    logger.info("Info message")
    logger.…
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Build a Dated Backup Filename with Timestamp in Python

Generate unique backup filenames with a timestamp using Python's datetime module and f-strings.

datetime backup filenames
Python
from datetime import datetime

def build_backup_filename(base_name: str, extension: str = "bak") -> str:
    """Generate a dated backup filename with timestamp."""
    timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
    return f"{base_name}_{timestamp}.{extension}"

if __name__ == "__main__":
    backup_file = bu…
12 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Copy a File with shutil.copy2 in Python

Copy a file while preserving metadata like timestamps and permissions using Python's shutil.copy2 and pathlib.

shutil file-copy pathlib
Python
import shutil
from pathlib import Path

source = Path("sample.txt")
destination = Path("sample_copy.txt")

source.write_text("Hello, PythonSkillset!")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    shutil.copy2(source, destination)
    copied = destination.read_text()
    print(f"Copied content: {copied}")
    print(f"Source exists:…
11 0 Open
AI & LLM integration patterns easy

How to Log Prompts and Completions as JSONL Audit Files in Python

Read a JSONL file of LLM prompt–completion pairs, compute totals and averages, then write an audit summary with timestamps.

jsonl audit llm
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime


def audit_jsonl(filepath):
    logs = []
    with open(filepath, encoding="utf-8") as f:
        for line in f:
            line = line.strip()
            if not line:
                continue
            entry = json.loads(line)
            logs.ap…
15 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

Generate Random Fake User Data for Testing in Python

This code generates a list of fake user dictionaries with random names, emails, ages, and timestamps using the Python standard library for testing purposes.

testing random data-generation
Python
import json
import random
import string
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def generate_user_data(num_users=1):
    first_names = ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie", "Diana", "Eve"]
    last_names = ["Smith", "Johnson", "Brown", "Taylor", "Wilson"]
    domains = ["example.com", "test.org", "demo.net"]
    
    users = …
39 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Backup an SQLite Database with a Timestamp in Python

Backs up an SQLite database file to a timestamped copy using the sqlite3 backup API.

sqlite backup automation
Python
import sqlite3
import shutil
from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path

def backup_database(db_path: str, backup_dir: str = "backups") -> Path:
    db = Path(db_path)
    backup_folder = Path(backup_dir)
    backup_folder.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    
    timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
 …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

Monitor Website Uptime with Python

Periodically check if a website is reachable and its HTTP status is 200, logging the status with timestamps.

monitoring uptime requests
Python
import requests
import time

def check_website(url):
    try:
        response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            return True
        else:
            return False
    except requests.ConnectionError:
        return False
    except requests.Timeout:
        return Fals…
39 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Generate a Mock CDC Changelog in Python

Simulate a CDC changelog with INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations, timestamps, and record snapshots for testing data pipelines.

cdc changelog mock-data
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def generate_mock_changelog(records, operations=("INSERT", "UPDATE", "DELETE")):
    """Simulate a CDC changelog from a list of record snapshots."""
    base_time = datetime(2025, 1, 1, 8, 0, 0)
    changelog = []
    for idx, record in enumerate(records):
       …
15 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Group Python Events into Sessions with a Gap Timeout

Groups timestamped events into sessions, starting a new session when the time gap exceeds a specified timeout.

sessions grouping datetime
Python
from itertools import groupby
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def session_window_group(events, gap_seconds=300):
    """Group events into sessions where gap > gap_seconds starts a new session."""
    if not events:
        return []
    
    events = sorted(events, key=lambda x: x[0])
    sessions = []
    c…
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Implement Incremental Load with Watermark by updated_at in Python

Load only new or changed rows into SQLite by comparing an updated_at timestamp against a stored watermark, returning counts and the new watermark.

incremental-load watermark sqlite
Python
import sqlite3
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def watermark_incremental_load(db_path, table_name, last_watermark, source_data):
    """Load only rows with updated_at greater than the last watermark."""
    conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
    cursor = conn.cursor()

    # Create table if it doesn't exist
  …
12 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to List Failed Records in a Dead Letter Queue Mock in Python

A mock Dead Letter Queue stores failed processing records with error details and timestamps, lists them, and exports to JSON.

dead-letter-queue json logging
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
import random


class DeadLetterQueue:
    def __init__(self):
        self.failed_records = []

    def add_failed_record(self, record_id, payload, error_message):
        self.failed_records.append({
            "record_id": record_id,
            "payload": paylo…
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to route late-arriving data to a side output in Python

Separate late-arriving events from a streaming data batch into a dead-letter side output list using a timestamp threshold.

data pipelines streaming dead-letter
Python
from collections import defaultdict

def late_arriving_side_output(events, late_threshold_ts):
    """
    Mock a streaming pipeline that separates late-arriving data events
    into a side output list (e.g., for dead-letter analysis).

    events: list of (timestamp, data) tuples, timestamps as ints.
    late_thresho…
12 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Rollback dataset to previous snapshot pointer in Python

A SnapshotManager class stores timestamped data snapshots and rolls back to the most recent snapshot at or before a target time.

snapshots rollback datetime
Python
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


class SnapshotManager:
    def __init__(self):
        self.snapshots = {}  # timestamp -> data
        self.current_pointer = None

    def create_snapshot(self, data):
        timestamp = datetime.now()
        self.snapshots[timestamp] = data
        self.current_pointer =…
13 0 Open
Git + Python easy

How to Mirror a Bare Git Repository Backup in Python

Run a git clone --bare subprocess to create a timestamped bare-repo backup folder with error handling.

git backup subprocess
Python
import subprocess
import shlex
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime


def mirror_bare_repo(source_url: str, backup_dir: str) -> str:
    """Mirror a bare git repository to a timestamped backup folder."""
    backup_path = Path(backup_dir)
    backup_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

    timest…
13 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Generate Mock CloudFormation Stack Events in Python

Generate a list of mock AWS CloudFormation stack events with random resources, statuses, and timestamps, and print them as JSON.

cloudformation mock aws
Python
import json
import random
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def generate_mock_stack_events(stack_name="MyTestStack", num_events=10):
    """Generate a list of mock CloudFormation stack events."""
    resources = [
        ("AWS::S3::Bucket", "MyBucket"),
        ("AWS::EC2::Instance", "MyInstance"),
        ("…
15 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Create a JSON Data Helper in Python

A beginner-friendly DataHelper class that safely reads and writes JSON files with timestamps to a local data directory.

json files data-helper
Python
from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path
import json


class DataHelper:
    """Simple helper for reading/writing JSON files safely."""

    def __init__(self, base_dir="data"):
        self.base_dir = Path(base_dir)
        self.base_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)

    def save(self, filename, data):
        …
12 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Mock GCP Secret Manager access version in Python

A minimal mock of GCP Secret Manager that stores secret versions, retrieves payloads by version, and logs access timestamps.

gcp secret-manager mock
Python
import json
import time
from datetime import datetime, timezone


class MockSecretManager:
    """Minimal mock of GCP Secret Manager access/version behavior."""

    def __init__(self):
        self._secrets = {}
        self._access_log = []

    def create_secret(self, secret_id: str, payload: str) -> dict:
        …
15 0 Open
Modern tooling easy

How to Generate a Mock Rollbar Error Report in Python

Create a realistic fake Rollbar error report with random timestamps, levels, messages, and counts for testing and demos.

rollbar mock-data error-reporting
Python
import json
import random
import time
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def mock_rollbar_report(n_errors=5):
    messages = [
        "TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'",
        "KeyError: 'user_id'",
        "ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 10: 'abc'",
        "At…
13 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
Streaming & messaging easy

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.

streaming deque dataclass
Python
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…
13 0 Open
Streaming & messaging easy

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.

cdc mock event-stream
Python
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:
…
12 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

How to Implement a Rate Limiter in Python

A beginner-friendly Python class that tracks call timestamps with a deque to allow or block calls based on a max rate per time period.

rate-limit deque time
Python
import time
from collections import deque


class RateLimiter:
    """Simple rate limiter for beginners."""

    def __init__(self, max_calls: int, period_seconds: float):
        self.max_calls = max_calls
        self.period = period_seconds
        self.calls = deque()

    def allow(self) -> bool:
        """Retur…
16 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

How to implement rate limiting in Python

Build a simple sliding-window rate limiter in Python that enforces a max number of calls per time period and formats data with timestamps.

rate-limiting time sliding-window
Python
import time

class RateLimiter:
    def __init__(self, max_calls, period):
        self.max_calls = max_calls
        self.period = period
        self.calls = []
    
    def allow(self):
        now = time.time()
        # Remove calls older than the period window
        self.calls = [t for t in self.calls if now -…
17 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

Rate Limit per User ID in Python with a Dict Mock

Implements a simple sliding window rate limiter using a defaultdict of timestamps per user ID, blocking requests that exceed a max count within a time window.

rate-limiting defaultdict sliding-window
Python
import time
from collections import defaultdict


class RateLimiter:
    def __init__(self, max_requests, window_seconds):
        self.max_requests = max_requests
        self.window_seconds = window_seconds
        self.user_timestamps = defaultdict(list)

    def allow_request(self, user_id):
        now = time.tim…
14 0 Open

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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.