Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

51 matches
Concurrency & performance medium

How to Use a Weakref Cache to Avoid Memory Leaks in Python

This code demonstrates building a value cache with weakref.WeakValueDictionary so objects can be garbage collected when no longer referenced, preventing memory leaks.

weakref caching memory
Python
import weakref
import gc


class ExpensiveObject:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name

    def __repr__(self):
        return f"ExpensiveObject('{self.name}')"


class ObjectCache:
    def __init__(self):
        self._cache = weakref.WeakValueDictionary()

    def get_or_create(self, name):
       …
13 0 Open
Concurrency & performance medium

How to Use asyncio Lock to Protect a Shared Counter in Python

This code demonstrates how to use an asyncio.Lock to safely increment a shared counter from multiple concurrent coroutines.

asyncio lock concurrency
Python
import asyncio

async def increment(counter, lock, increments):
    for _ in range(increments):
        async with lock:
            counter[0] += 1

async def main():
    counter = [0]
    lock = asyncio.Lock()
    tasks = [
        increment(counter, lock, 1000)
        for _ in range(5)
    ]
    await asyncio.gath…
16 0 Open
Concurrency & performance medium

How to Use threading.RLock in Python

Demonstrates threading.RLock, a reentrant lock that allows the same thread to acquire it multiple times without deadlocking — essential for recursive functions sharing state across threads.

threading rlock concurrency
Python
import threading
import time

lock = threading.RLock()
shared_counter = 0

def recursive_increment(value, depth):
    global shared_counter
    with lock:
        shared_counter += 1
        print(f"Depth {depth}: counter = {shared_counter}")
        if depth > 1:
            recursive_increment(value, depth - 1)

def…
14 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Mock and Stub API Calls in Playwright E2E Tests with Python

This code demonstrates how to mock and stub API responses in Playwright end-to-end tests using Python's unittest.mock patch and Playwright's APIRequestContext.

playwright e2e-testing mocking
Python
import re
from unittest.mock import patch
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright

def verify_api_mock(page, mock_url, mock_response):
    with patch("playwright.sync_api.APIRequestContext.get") as mock_get:
        mock_get.return_value.json.return_value = mock_response
        mock_get.return_value.status_co…
13 0 Open
Testing & modern typing medium

How to Use Mock Flip Mutation Testing in Python

Demonstrates how mutation testing tools flip Boolean literals (mock flip) in Python source to verify test suite effectiveness in catching logic changes.

mutation-testing testing bool
Python
import random

# In mutation testing, a "mock flip" intentionally changes a Boolean
# constant to False (or True) to see if the test suite catches it.
# This is a common "constant mutation" applied to a source file's literals.

def is_even(n: int) -> bool:
    """Return True if n is even. Contains a Boolean literal us…
13 0 Open
System design patterns medium

Domain Driven Design Aggregate Root Example in Python

Model an Order as an aggregate root with invariants enforced through methods, demonstrating DDD principles in Python.

ddd aggregate-root object-oriented
Python
from __future__ import annotations
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import List, Optional
from uuid import uuid4


class Money:
    def __init__(self, amount: float, currency: str = "USD"):
        self.amount = amount
        self.currency = currency

    def __add__(self, other: Money) -> Money:
       …
12 0 Open
System design patterns medium

Facade Pattern in Python with Mock Simplification

This code demonstrates the Facade pattern by hiding complex subsystem interactions behind a simple start/stop interface, and adds a MockFacade for testing failure scenarios.

facade-pattern design-patterns abstraction
Python
class SubsystemA:
    def operation_a(self):
        return "Subsystem A: ready"

class SubsystemB:
    def operation_b(self):
        return "Subsystem B: ready"

class SubsystemC:
    def operation_c(self):
        return "Subsystem C: ready"


class Facade:
    def __init__(self):
        self._a = SubsystemA()
   …
15 0 Open
System design patterns medium

How to Apply the Clean Architecture Dependency Rule in Python

Demonstrates the dependency rule with a Protocol repository, a use case, and a presenter wired together at a composition root.

clean-architecture dependency-inversion protocol
Python
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import List, Protocol

class Repository(Protocol):
    def get_items(self) -> List[str]:
        ...

@dataclass
class InMemoryRepository:
    items: List[str]

    def get_items(self) -> List[str]:
        return self.items

class UseCase:
    """Application layer depends…
13 0 Open
System design patterns medium

How to Implement Retry with Exponential Backoff and Jitter in Python

This code demonstrates a retry mechanism with exponential backoff and optional full jitter, using a flaky mock network call for testing.

retry backoff jitter
Python
import random
import time


def retry_with_backoff(func, max_attempts=5, base_delay=0.1, jitter=True):
    """
    Retry a function with exponential backoff and optional full jitter.
    """
    for attempt in range(max_attempts):
        try:
            return func()
        except Exception as e:
            if att…
14 0 Open
System design patterns medium

How to Implement the Strategy Pattern in Python

This Python code demonstrates the Strategy design pattern using interchangeable sorting algorithms (bubble sort and quick sort) that can be swapped at runtime.

design-pattern strategy oop
Python
class SortingStrategy:
    def sort(self, data):
        raise NotImplementedError

class BubbleSort(SortingStrategy):
    def sort(self, data):
        result = data.copy()
        n = len(result)
        for i in range(n):
            for j in range(0, n - i - 1):
                if result[j] > result[j + 1]:
      …
13 0 Open
System design patterns medium

How to Mock a Timeout per Dependency Call in Python

This code demonstrates how to simulate and test per-call timeouts for external dependencies using Python's unittest.mock and a simple timing wrapper.

mock timeout unittest
Python
```python
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch

def call_dependency(dependency, timeout):
    start = time.time()
    result = dependency.call()
    elapsed = time.time() - start
    if elapsed > timeout:
        raise TimeoutError(f"Dependency call took {elapsed:.2f}s, exceeding timeout {timeout}s")
    …
14 0 Open
System design patterns medium

Singleton Config Loader in Python with Caution

Implements a singleton config loader in Python that reads JSON config files, but demonstrates the hidden gotcha of shared state across instances.

singleton config design-patterns
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path

class ConfigLoader:
    _instance = None

    def __new__(cls, *args, **kwargs):
        if cls._instance is None:
            cls._instance = super().__new__(cls)
        return cls._instance

    def __init__(self, config_file="config.json"):
        if not hasattr(self, "loaded…
12 0 Open
Streaming & messaging medium

How to Implement At-Least-Once Delivery with Acknowledgment in Python

This code demonstrates a mock message broker with at-least-once delivery, including retry logic and acknowledgment after successful processing.

messaging queue retry
Python
import time
import uuid
from collections import deque


class MockMessageBroker:
    def __init__(self):
        self.queue = deque()
        self.acked = set()

    def publish(self, payload: str) -> str:
        msg_id = str(uuid.uuid4())
        self.queue.append((msg_id, payload))
        return msg_id

    def po…
13 0 Open
Streaming & messaging medium

How to Mock Offset Commit Auto vs Manual in Python

Demonstrates a Kafka-style offset commit function with auto/manual modes and tests it using unittest.mock.patch.

unittest mocking kafka
Python
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch

def commit_offsets(topic_partition_offsets, auto_commit=False):
    """Manually commit offsets or simulate auto-commit."""
    if auto_commit:
        print(f"Auto-committing offsets: {topic_partition_offsets}")
        return {"status": "auto_committed"}
    
    print(f"Manuall…
15 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to Implement Hedged Requests in Python

This code demonstrates a hedged request pattern using threading, which sends duplicate calls and returns the first result that arrives within a timeout.

hedged-requests threading timeout
Python
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock

def hedged_request(call, timeout=0.05):
    """Execute two duplicate calls, return first result within timeout."""
    result_container = {}

    def run_and_store():
        result_container['result'] = call()
        result_container['done'] = True

    # Simulate slow cal…
16 0 Open
Big data & Spark medium

How to use foreachBatch with a mock sink in PySpark

Demonstrates using Spark Structured Streaming's foreachBatch sink to capture and verify streaming batches by writing them into a custom mock sink object.

pyspark structured-streaming foreachbatch
Python
from pyspark.sql import SparkSession
from pyspark.sql.functions import col, lit

class MockSink:
    def __init__(self):
        self.batches = []
    
    def write_batch(self, batch_df, batch_id):
        # Collect batch data as list of dicts for verification
        records = batch_df.collect()
        self.batches…
14 0 Open
Big data & Spark medium

Skew Join Salting Key in Python (Demo)

Demonstrates skew join salting by expanding a smaller side with salt keys and matching rows on the larger side via random salt assignment.

skew join salting distributed
Python
import random


def skew_join_salting_key(left_df, right_df, salt_range=4):
    """
    Demonstrates skew join salting: expand the smaller side with salt keys,
    then attach a salt key to each row on the larger side.
    Returns a list of (left, right, salt) tuples.
    """
    skewed_left = []
    for row in left_d…
14 0 Open
A/B testing & experimentation medium

How to Mock Time for Cache TTL Testing in Python

This code demonstrates how to test a cache's TTL expiration logic by mocking time.time with unittest.mock to control the passage of time.

caching ttl unit-testing
Python
import time
from unittest.mock import patch

class ConfigCache:
    def __init__(self, ttl=60):
        self.ttl = ttl
        self._store = {}
        self._timestamps = {}

    def get(self, key):
        if key not in self._store:
            return None
        if time.time() - self._timestamps[key] > self.ttl:
  …
17 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

How to Eager Load with JOIN to Reduce N+1 Queries in Python

Demonstrates eager loading with a SQL JOIN to reduce N+1 query patterns down to a single database call when fetching related data.

eager-loading n-plus-1 join
Python
import sqlite3


def eager_load_join_reduce(mock_db_path=":memory:"):
    """Demonstrate eager loading where joins reduce query count from N+1 to 1."""
    conn = sqlite3.connect(mock_db_path)
    cursor = conn.cursor()
    cursor.executescript(
        """
        CREATE TABLE authors (id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY, name TE…
16 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

How to Implement Read-After-Write Consistency Mock in Python

Simulate strong versus eventual read-after-write consistency with a primary and replica store, demonstrating the difference in data visibility over time.

consistency replication mock
Python
import time


class MockStorage:
    def __init__(self, write_delay=0.1):
        self.store = {}
        self.replica = {}
        self.write_delay = write_delay

    def write(self, key, value):
        # Write to primary storage immediately
        self.store[key] = value
        # Simulate async replication delay
…
13 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Offset vs Keyset Pagination in Python

Demonstrate offset-based pagination and keyset (cursor) pagination with a simple in-memory dataset, showing how each returns pages of records.

pagination keyset offset
Python
"""Demonstrate pagination using offset vs keyset (cursor) approach."""

ITEMS = [
    {"id": 1, "name": "Alice"},
    {"id": 2, "name": "Bob"},
    {"id": 3, "name": "Carol"},
    {"id": 4, "name": "David"},
    {"id": 5, "name": "Eve"},
]

def offset_paginate(items, page, page_size):
    """Return a page using offset…
14 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Two Phase Commit Cross Shard Mock in Python

Simulates a two-phase commit across shards with failure handling to demonstrate distributed transaction coordination in Python.

two-phase-commit distributed-systems transaction
Python
"""Mock cross-shard two-phase commit with caution handling."""

class Shard:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name
        self.prepared = False
        self.committed = False
        self.aborted = False

    def prepare(self):
        # Simulate potential failure (1 in 3 chance on third shard)
     …
14 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Implement a Vault Dynamic Database Credentials Mock in Python

A Python dataclass-based mock of HashiCorp Vault that issues short-lived database credentials, tracks leases, and revokes them, demonstrating dynamic secrets rotation.

vault secrets database
Python
import time
import json
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import Dict


@dataclass
class DynamicCredential:
    username: str
    password: str
    lease_duration: int
    created_at: float = field(default_factory=time.time)

    def is_valid(self) -> bool:
        return time.time() - self.created_…
16 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Mock HTTP Responses to Verify HSTS Headers in Python

This code demonstrates how to use unittest.mock to intercept and capture HTTP response headers, specifically the Strict-Transport-Security header, from a mocked HTTPServer handler for security validation.

hsts mock security
Python
from http.server import BaseHTTPRequestHandler, HTTPServer
from unittest.mock import patch

class StrictTransportMock(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
    def do_GET(self):
        self.send_response(200)
        self.send_header("Strict-Transport-Security", "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains")
        self.end_headers()
  …
13 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.