Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

631 matches
Database scaling & optimization medium

How to mock batch commit of transactions in Python

Simulate a transaction batch writer with commit, rollback, and summary logic to test database write patterns without a real database.

transactions mock batch
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timezone

class TransactionBatch:
    def __init__(self):
        self.pending = []
        self.committed = []
        self._log = []

    def add(self, operation):
        self.pending.append(operation)

    def commit(self):
        if not self.pending:
            return …
17 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Idempotent Writes for Sharded Databases in Python

Implement a mock shard with idempotent write support using request IDs to prevent duplicate writes and track the latest value per key.

idempotency sharding distributed-systems
Python
import json


class ShardMock:
    """Mock distributed shard with idempotent write support."""

    def __init__(self, shard_id):
        self.shard_id = shard_id
        self._store = {}

    def write(self, key, value, request_id):
        """Write value only if request_id not yet processed; idempotent."""
        i…
15 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Mock CQRS Read/Write Split in Python

Separate order mutations from queries using a read model and write model to mock CQRS-style separation of concerns.

cqrs read-write dataclass
Python
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import List, Dict


@dataclass
class Order:
    id: int
    amount: float
    status: str = "pending"


class OrderWriteModel:
    """Handles all mutations (writes) to orders."""

    def __init__(self):
        self._orders: Dict[int, Order] = {}
        self._next…
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…
15 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Simulate Shard Key Cardinality in Python

Generate mock data with configurable cardinality to evaluate shard key distribution and detect hotspots in database scaling design.

sharding cardinality database
Python
import random
import string

def calculate_cardinality(values):
    """Return the number of distinct values in the given list."""
    return len(set(values))

def generate_mock_data(num_records, cardinality):
    """Generate mock records for a shard key with given cardinality."""
    possible_keys = [f"key_{i:04d}" fo…
18 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Simulate a GIN Index for JSONB in Python

Build a mock Generalized Inverted Index (GIN) that flattens JSON documents into key-value tokens for fast lookup queries, mimicking PostgreSQL JSONB indexing.

jsonb gin-index inverted-index
Python
import json
import random
from collections import defaultdict

# Mock GIN (Generalized Inverted Index) for JSONB key-value pairs
class GINIndex:
    def __init__(self):
        self.posting_lists = defaultdict(list)  # token -> list of doc_ids
    
    def index(self, doc_id, json_obj):
        """Index a JSON documen…
15 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Snowflake ID Generator with Cluster Index Mock in Python

A thread-safe Snowflake ID generator mock that creates unique 64-bit IDs across simulated cluster nodes and maintains a sorted in-memory index for range queries.

snowflake id-generation clustering
Python
import time
import threading

class SnowflakeIDGenerator:
    def __init__(self, machine_id, datacenter_id):
        self.machine_id = machine_id
        self.datacenter_id = datacenter_id
        self.sequence = 0
        self.last_timestamp = -1
        self.machine_bits = 5
        self.datacenter_bits = 5
        …
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)
     …
15 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

ACME LetsEncrypt Mock Challenge Server in Python

A minimal HTTP server that serves key authorizations for ACME/Let's Encrypt DNS-01 or HTTP-01 challenges during testing and validation.

acme letsencrypt http-server
Python
from http.server import HTTPServer, BaseHTTPRequestHandler
import json

# In-memory store simulating the ACME challenge token -> key authorization pair
challenge_store = {
    "token_example": "token_example.key_authorization"
}

class AcmeChallengeHandler(BaseHTTPRequestHandler):
    def do_GET(self):
        # Extra…
19 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

AES GCM encryption and decryption in Python

Encrypt and decrypt data with AES-256-GCM using the cryptography library, including nonce generation and authenticated roundtrip verification.

aes-gcm cryptography encryption
Python
import os
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.ciphers.aead import AESGCM

def aes_gcm_demo():
    plaintext = b"confidential message"
    key = AESGCM.generate_key(bit_length=256)
    aesgcm = AESGCM(key)
    nonce = os.urandom(12)
    
    ciphertext = aesgcm.encrypt(nonce, plaintext, None)
    decrypted = aesgcm.dec…
21 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

ChaCha20-Poly1305 mock in Python

Simulates ChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD encryption and authentication using SHA-256 as a deterministic keystream and tag generator.

crypto aead mock
Python
from hashlib import sha256
import struct

def chacha20_block(key, counter, nonce):
    """Mock ChaCha20 block: deterministic pseudo-random keystream from key+counter+nonce."""
    state_input = key + struct.pack("<I", counter) + nonce + b"ChaCha20"
    return sha256(state_input).digest()[:64]  # 64-byte keystream bloc…
19 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

ECDH key agreement in Python with cryptography

Simulate ECDH key exchange between Alice and Bob, derive a shared secret, and generate a symmetric key with HKDF using the cryptography library.

ecdh cryptography key-agreement
Python
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.asymmetric import ec
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives import serialization, hashes
from cryptography.hazmat.primitives.kdf.hkdf import HKDF

def ecdh_mock():
    # Alice generates her key pair
    alice_private = ec.generate_private_key(ec.SECP256R1())
    alice_public = alice_pr…
18 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Create and Verify HMAC SHA256 API Signatures in Python

Generate and verify HMAC-SHA256 signatures for API requests using Python's hmac, hashlib, and base64 modules.

hmac sha256 authentication
Python
import hmac
import hashlib
import base64
import json
from datetime import datetime, timezone

def create_api_signature(secret_key: str, method: str, path: str, timestamp: str, body: dict = None) -> str:
    """Create HMAC-SHA256 signature for API request."""
    payload = {
        "method": method.upper(),
        "p…
16 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Create and Verify an OpenID Connect ID Token in Python

Generate and validate a mock OpenID Connect ID token (JWT) with HS256 signing using only the Python standard library.

jwt oidc security
Python
import base64
import hashlib
import hmac
import json
import time
from typing import Optional


def b64url_encode(data: bytes) -> str:
    return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(data).rstrip(b"=").decode("utf-8")


def b64url_decode(data: str) -> bytes:
    padding = "=" * (-len(data) % 4)
    return base64.urlsafe_b64decode(…
15 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Encode and Decode JWT with HS256 in Python

Implement JWT encoding and decoding using HMAC-SHA256 (HS256) with Python's standard library, including signature verification.

jwt hmac authentication
Python
import base64
import hashlib
import hmac
import json


def base64url_encode(data: bytes) -> bytes:
    return base64.urlsafe_b64encode(data).rstrip(b"=")


def base64url_decode(data: str) -> bytes:
    padding = "=" * (-len(data) % 4)
    return base64.urlsafe_b64decode(data + padding)


def encode_jwt(payload: dict, …
19 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Hash Passwords and Authenticate Users in Python

A beginner-friendly dataclass-based design that hashes passwords with PBKDF2 and verifies them securely using constant-time comparisons.

security password hashing pbkdf2
Python
import hashlib
import hmac
import secrets
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Optional


@dataclass
class User:
    id: int
    username: str
    password_hash: str
    salt: str


def hash_password(password: str) -> tuple[str, str]:
    salt = secrets.token_hex(16)
    password_hash = hashlib.pbkdf2_…
17 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Implement Refresh Token Rotation in Python

A mock auth service that issues, rotates, and validates refresh tokens, revoking old tokens on reuse to prevent replay attacks.

auth oauth refresh-token
Python
import time
import hashlib
import secrets
from typing import Dict, Optional, Tuple


class MockTokenService:
    """Simulates refresh token rotation for a simple auth system."""

    def __init__(self):
        # Token hash -> (user_id, rotation_count, expires_at)
        self._active_tokens: Dict[str, Tuple[str, int,…
14 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Implement a CSRF Token Double Submit Mock in Python

A mock CSRF protection class that generates and validates double-submit tokens using HMAC-SHA256 with a secret key.

csrf security hmac
Python
import hmac
import hashlib
import secrets


class CSRFProtection:
    def __init__(self, secret_key: str):
        self.secret_key = secret_key.encode("utf-8")

    def generate_token(self) -> str:
        random_value = secrets.token_hex(16)
        signature = hmac.new(
            self.secret_key, random_value.enco…
16 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_…
17 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Mock Certificate Pinning with SPKI Hash in Python

Shows how to compute and compare a certificate's SubjectPublicKeyInfo SHA-256 hash for pinning validation in Python.

certificate ssl pinning
Python
import hashlib
import base64
import ssl
import socket

class MockCertificatePinner:
    """Demonstrates SPKI hash pinning for certificate validation."""
    
    def __init__(self, pinned_spki_hashes):
        self.pinned_hashes = set(pinned_spki_hashes)
    
    def get_spki_hash(self, cert_pem):
        """Compute t…
15 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Mock Environment Variables in Python

A context manager that injects and restores environment variables for isolated testing of config-dependent code.

env vars context manager testing
Python
import os

class EnvInjector:
    def __init__(self, mock_vars=None):
        self.mock_vars = mock_vars or {}
        self.original = {}

    def __enter__(self):
        for key, value in self.mock_vars.items():
            if key in os.environ:
                self.original[key] = os.environ[key]
            os.env…
15 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Mock Environment Variables in Python for 12-Factor Config

Read 12-factor config from env vars and test/mock them with unittest.mock.patch.dict without touching the real environment.

environment-variables 12-factor testing
Python
import os
import json
from unittest.mock import patch

def load_config(env_prefix="APP"):
    """Read 12-factor style config from env vars"""
    required = ["DATABASE_URL", "API_KEY"]
    optional = {"PORT": "8080", "DEBUG": "false"}
    
    config = {}
    for key in required:
        full_key = f"{env_prefix}_{key…
14 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()
  …
15 0 Open
Auth & security at scale medium

How to Mock KMS Envelope Encryption in Python

Demonstrates a minimal mock of AWS KMS envelope encryption flow with AES-GCM data key wrapping and unwrapping.

kms encryption aes-gcm
Python
import base64
import json
import os
import hashlib


class MockKMS:
    """Minimal mock of AWS KMS envelope encryption flow."""

    def generate_data_key(self):
        # Simulate KMS returning a plaintext and encrypted data key
        plaintext_key = os.urandom(32)
        encrypted_key = hashlib.sha256(plaintext_k…
15 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.