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Python Code Samples

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

33 matches
Functions & basics medium

How to Invalidate Cache When Arguments Change in Python

A memoization decorator that caches function results keyed by arguments, automatically invalidating when inputs change.

decorators caching memoization
Python
from functools import wraps

def memoize(func):
    cache = {}
    
    @wraps(func)
    def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
        key = (args, tuple(sorted(kwargs.items())))
        if key not in cache:
            cache[key] = func(*args, **kwargs)
        return cache[key]
    
    return wrapper

@memoize
def expensiv…
14 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets medium

How to Build a TTL Cache Dict in Python

Create a dictionary subclass that automatically expires keys after a fixed time-to-live using timestamps.

dictionary cache ttl
Python
import time

class TTLDict(dict):
    def __init__(self, ttl, *args, **kwargs):
        self.ttl = ttl
        self._expires = {}
        super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)

    def __setitem__(self, key, value):
        super().__setitem__(key, value)
        self._expires[key] = time.time() + self.ttl

    def __geti…
16 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets medium

LRU Cache with OrderedDict in Python

Implement an LRU cache using collections.OrderedDict to track insertion order and evict the least-recently-used item when capacity is exceeded.

lru-cache ordereddict caching
Python
from collections import OrderedDict

class LRUCache:
    def __init__(self, capacity):
        self.capacity = capacity
        self.cache = OrderedDict()

    def get(self, key):
        if key not in self.cache:
            return -1
        self.cache.move_to_end(key)
        return self.cache[key]

    def put(sel…
14 0 Open
AI & LLM integration patterns medium

How to cache embeddings with a Python dict to avoid recomputation

Caches embeddings computed from text in a dictionary keyed by SHA-256 hash, returning cached results for repeated calls.

embedding cache dict
Python
import hashlib
import time


class EmbeddingCache:
    def __init__(self):
        self.cache = {}

    def _hash_text(self, text):
        return hashlib.sha256(text.encode()).hexdigest()

    def get_embedding(self, text, compute_func):
        key = self._hash_text(text)
        if key not in self.cache:
          …
15 0 Open
Git + Python medium

How to Archive a Repository as a ZIP in Python

Create a ZIP archive of a repository directory with a mock export, skipping hidden files and __pycache__ folders.

zipfile os.walk archiving
Python
import zipfile
import io
import os
from pathlib import Path


def archive_repo_mock(repo_path, output_path="repo_archive.zip"):
    """Create a zip archive of a repository directory (mock export)."""
    repo = Path(repo_path)
    if not repo.exists():
        raise FileNotFoundError(f"Repository not found: {repo}")

…
13 0 Open
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
System design patterns medium

How to implement stale-while-revalidate caching in Python

A Python cache wrapper that returns a stale cached value with a fallback flag when the upstream fetch fails, using TTL-based freshness checks.

caching ttl resilience
Python
import time
from functools import lru_cache


class CachedService:
    def __init__(self, fetch_func, ttl=5):
        self.fetch_func = fetch_func
        self.ttl = ttl
        self._cache = {}
        self._timestamp = {}

    def get(self, key):
        now = time.time()
        if key in self._cache and now - self…
12 0 Open
System design patterns medium

Lazy loading with a proxy in Python: defer expensive service creation

A lazy proxy defers creating an expensive service object until its method is first called, then caches it for reuse.

proxy lazy-loading design-patterns
Python
import time
import random


class ExpensiveService:
    def __init__(self, name):
        self.name = name
        print(f"Creating expensive service: {self.name}")

    def fetch_data(self):
        time.sleep(1)
        return f"Data from {self.name}: {random.randint(1, 100)}"


class LazyProxy:
    def __init__(sel…
15 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

Cache Penetration Null Object Mock in Python

Implement a cache that stores a null marker on misses to prevent repeated database hits, reducing cache penetration.

caching null-object ttl
Python
import time
from collections import defaultdict
from typing import Any, Optional


class Cache:
    def __init__(self):
        self.store: dict[str, Any] = {}
        self.ttl: dict[str, float] = {}
        self.null_marker = object()

    def get(self, key: str, ttl: int = 60, fallback:
            Any = None) -> An…
17 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

Cache Stampede Prevention with SingleFlight in Python

Implements a SingleFlight pattern in Python to deduplicate concurrent cache-miss computations and prevent cache stampede.

caching concurrency singleflight
Python
import threading
import time
from functools import wraps


class SingleFlight:
    def __init__(self):
        self._lock = threading.Lock()
        self._inflight = None

    def do(self, key, fn):
        with self._lock:
            if self._inflight is not None:
                return self._inflight[1]
           …
15 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

Consistent Hashing Cache Shard in Python

A minimal consistent hashing ring with virtual nodes that distributes cache keys across shards and minimizes re-mapping when a node is removed.

caching sharding consistent-hashing
Python
import hashlib
import bisect


class ConsistentHashRing:
    def __init__(self, nodes=None, replicas=3):
        self.replicas = replicas
        self.ring = {}
        self.sorted_keys = []
        if nodes:
            for node in nodes:
                self.add_node(node)

    def _hash(self, key):
        return i…
16 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Add TTL Jitter to Cache Expiration in Python

A Python decorator that adds random jitter to cache TTLs, staggering expiration times to prevent cache avalanche.

cache ttl jitter
Python
import random
import time
from functools import wraps

def add_jitter(ttl: float, jitter_range: float = 0.1) -> float:
    """Add random jitter (as % of TTL) to stagger cache expiration and prevent avalanche."""
    jitter = random.uniform(-jitter_range, jitter_range)
    return ttl * (1 + jitter)

def cache_with_jitt…
15 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Build a Bloom Filter to Reduce Cache Misses in Python

Implement a probabilistic Bloom filter in Python that lets a cache quickly determine which keys are definitely not present, reducing expensive source lookups on cache misses.

bloom-filter caching probabilistic
Python
import hashlib
import random

class BloomFilter:
    def __init__(self, size=100, num_hashes=3):
        self.size = size
        self.num_hashes = num_hashes
        self.bit_array = [0] * size

    def _hashes(self, item):
        result = []
        for i in range(self.num_hashes):
            hash_value = int(hash…
14 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Cache Data in Redis with Python

Build a simple Redis cache wrapper that stores and retrieves JSON data with automatic TTL and serialization.

redis cache json
Python
import redis
import json
import time


class Cache:
    def __init__(self, host="localhost", port=6379, db=0, default_ttl=60):
        self.client = redis.Redis(host=host, port=port, db=db)
        self.default_ttl = default_ttl

    def get(self, key):
        value = self.client.get(key)
        if value is None:
  …
14 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Cache Function Results in Redis with Python

A Python decorator that caches function results in Redis using TTL, with optional fakeredis for testing without a server.

redis caching decorator
Python
import redis
import json
import time
try:
    import fakeredis
except ImportError:
    fakeredis = None

from functools import wraps


def cache_redis(cache_key_prefix="cache", ttl=60):
    """Decorator to cache function results in Redis."""
    if fakeredis:
        r = fakeredis.FakeStrictRedis()
    else:
        r…
14 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Implement Probabilistic Early Expiration in Python

A Python mock of probabilistic early expiration for caches, using a heap-based expiry queue and random eviction to approximate cache stampede protection.

caching expiration heap
Python
import heapq
import random
import time


class ProbabilisticEarlyExpirationMock:
    def __init__(self, capacity=1024, expiration_probability=0.1):
        self.capacity = capacity
        self.expiration_probability = expiration_probability
        self._items = {}
        self._expiry_heap = []
        self._next_id…
14 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Implement a Negative Cache with TTL in Python

This code provides a TTL mock cache that stores negative results (cache misses) for a short time to reduce repeated lookups of missing keys.

cache ttl negative-cache
Python
from time import time, sleep

class TTLMockCache:
    def __init__(self, ttl_seconds=5):
        self.ttl = ttl_seconds
        self.store = {}
        self.negative_cache = {}

    def get(self, key):
        now = time()
        if key in self.store:
            value, expires_at = self.store[key]
            if exp…
13 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Implement a Redis-Like Cache Dictionary in Python

Build a RedisMockDict class that mimics basic Redis key-value operations with TTL support, expiry cleanup, and standard dict-like methods.

redis cache ttl
Python
from collections import OrderedDict
import time

class RedisMockDict:
    def __init__(self, ttl=None):
        self._data = OrderedDict()
        self._ttl = ttl  # default TTL in seconds, None = no expiry
        self._expiry = {}

    def set(self, key, value, ttl=None):
        """Set a key-value pair with optiona…
12 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Implement a Write-Through Cache in Python with a Mock Database

A thread-safe write-through cache that updates both cache and mock database atomically, computing values only after a successful write to the database.

caching write-through threading
Python
import threading
import time
import random


class WriteThroughCache:
    def __init__(self):
        self.cache = {}
        self.db = {}
        self.lock = threading.Lock()

    def write(self, key, value):
        with self.lock:
            # Simulate slow database write
            time.sleep(random.uniform(0.01…
12 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Implement an LFU Cache in Python

Implement a Least Frequently Used (LFU) cache with frequency tracking dictionaries to evict the least accessed items when capacity is reached.

lfu cache frequency
Python
class LFUCache:
    def __init__(self, capacity: int):
        self.capacity = capacity
        self.data = {}
        self.freq = {}
        self.min_freq = 0

    def get(self, key: int) -> int:
        if key not in self.data:
            return -1
        self._increment_freq(key)
        return self.data[key]

  …
12 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Mock Cache Tag Invalidation in Python

Use unittest.mock.patch with wraps to verify tagged cache entries are invalidated correctly.

unittest mock cache
Python
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch

def get_cached_data(cache, key):
    """Return data from cache if present and valid, else None."""
    if cache.get(key, {}).get("valid", False):
        return cache[key]["data"]
    return None

def invalidate_tag_mock(cache, tag):
    """Invalidate all cache entries …
14 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Mock Redis EXPIRE, TTL, and PERSIST in Python

A lightweight in-memory MockRedis class that simulates Redis key expiration, TTL, and persist behavior for tests and local development.

redis mock ttl
Python
import time

class MockRedis:
    def __init__(self):
        self._store = {}
        self._expiry = {}

    def set(self, key, value):
        self._store[key] = value
        self._expiry.pop(key, None)
        return True

    def expire(self, key, ttl_seconds):
        if key not in self._store:
            retur…
14 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Mock zlib Compression for Cache Values in Python

Compress cache values with zlib and mock the compress function in unit tests to simulate cache behavior.

zlib mock caching
Python
import zlib
from unittest.mock import patch

def compress_value(data: bytes) -> bytes:
    """Compress data using zlib and return the compressed bytes."""
    return zlib.compress(data)

def decompress_value(compressed: bytes) -> bytes:
    """Decompress zlib data and return the original bytes."""
    return zlib.deco…
11 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

How to Serialize Cache Values with JSON and Pickle in Python

Serialize cache values using JSON for simple types or pickle for arbitrary objects, with robust error handling for unsupported types like mocks.

serialization caching json
Python
import json
import pickle
from unittest.mock import Mock

def serialize(value, method="json"):
    """Serialize a cache value using JSON or pickle with type checking."""
    if method == "json":
        try:
            return json.dumps(value).encode("utf-8")
        except TypeError as e:
            raise ValueErro…
11 0 Open

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