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Copy-ready Python snippets by topic and difficulty — short, focused, and runnable in the browser editor.
How to Create a Counter Closure in Python
Build a closure in Python that remembers and increments a counter across calls without using global variables.
def create_counter(start=0):
count = start
def increment():
nonlocal count
count += 1
return count
return increment
if __name__ == "__main__":
counter = create_counter(10)
print(counter())
print(counter())
print(counter())
How to Write a Context Manager Class in Python
Define a class with __enter__ and __exit__ to manage file resources safely using the with statement.
class FileReader:
def __init__(self, filename, mode="r"):
self.filename = filename
self.mode = mode
self.file = None
def __enter__(self):
self.file = open(self.filename, self.mode)
return self.file
def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
if self.file…
Write a Pure Function Without Side Effects in Python
Defines a pure function that adds one to a number without modifying external state.
def add_one(x: int) -> int:
"""Adds 1 to the input without modifying any external state."""
return x + 1
if __name__ == "__main__":
original = 5
result = add_one(original)
print(f"Original: {original}")
print(f"Result: {result}")
print(f"Original unchanged: {original}")
How to Assert Preconditions with Descriptive Messages in Python
Use Python's assert statement with a custom message to validate function preconditions and fail fast with clear diagnostics.
def divide(dividend, divisor):
assert divisor != 0, f"Divisor must be non-zero, got {divisor!r}"
return dividend / divisor
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(divide(10, 2))
try:
divide(10, 0)
except AssertionError as e:
print(f"AssertionError: {e}")
Implement a Context Manager That Suppresses Exceptions in Python
Shows how to write a custom context manager that catches specified exceptions and optionally re-raises others, plus the stdlib contextlib.suppress alternative.
import contextlib
class SuppressExceptions:
def __init__(self, *exceptions):
self.exceptions = exceptions
def __enter__(self):
return self
def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_val, exc_tb):
if exc_type is None:
return False
if not self.exceptions or exc_type in se…
Borg pattern shared state in Python
Implement the Borg pattern to share state across class instances by assigning a class-level dictionary to each instance's __dict__.
class Borg:
_shared_state = {}
def __init__(self):
self.__dict__ = Borg._shared_state
class ConfigManager(Borg):
def __init__(self):
super().__init__()
if not hasattr(self, "settings"):
self.settings = {}
def set(self, key, value):
self.settings[key] = va…
How to Build a Context Manager Class in Python
Create a reusable context manager class that opens and automatically closes resources using the with statement.
class FileResource:
def __init__(self, filename, mode='r'):
self.filename = filename
self.mode = mode
self.file = None
def __enter__(self):
self.file = open(self.filename, self.mode)
return self.file
def __exit__(self, exc_type, exc_value, traceback):
if se…
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.
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
…
How to Implement the State Pattern in Python
Implement the State design pattern in Python by delegating behavior to state objects, letting a media player change actions dynamically without if-else chains.
class State:
def play(self, player): pass
def pause(self, player): pass
def stop(self, player): pass
class PlayingState(State):
def play(self, player):
return "Already playing"
def pause(self, player):
player.state = PausedState()
return "Pausing playback"
def stop(self…
How to Use __getstate__ and __setstate__ for Pickle in Python
Customize Python object serialization with the pickle __getstate__ and __setstate__ hooks to control exactly what data is stored and how it is restored.
import pickle
class Temperature:
def __init__(self, celsius):
self.celsius = celsius
def __getstate__(self):
"""Customize what gets pickled."""
state = self.__dict__.copy()
# Convert to Fahrenheit for storage (simulate transformation)
state['fahrenheit'] = (self.celsiu…
Memento Pattern in Python: Save and Restore Object State
Implement the Memento design pattern to snapshot and restore an object's state, demonstrated with a text editor undo feature.
class TextEditor:
def __init__(self, text="", cursor_pos=0):
self.text = text
self.cursor_pos = cursor_pos
def type_text(self, new_text):
self.text += new_text
self.cursor_pos += len(new_text)
def move_cursor(self, pos):
self.cursor_pos = max(0, min(pos, len(self.t…
Game of Life Next State Grid in Python
Compute the next generation of Conway's Game of Life from a 2D grid using the standard three rules with neighbor counting.
def next_state(grid):
m, n = len(grid), len(grid[0])
new = [[0] * n for _ in range(m)]
for r in range(m):
for c in range(n):
total = 0
for dr in (-1, 0, 1):
for dc in (-1, 0, 1):
if dr == 0 and dc == 0:
continue
…
How to Build an Entity Memory Dict to Store Facts in Python
Store and recall facts about entities using nested dictionaries with remember, recall, and forget functions in Python.
facts = {}
def remember(entity, attribute, value):
if entity not in facts:
facts[entity] = {}
facts[entity][attribute] = value
def recall(entity, attribute):
return facts.get(entity, {}).get(attribute, None)
def forget(entity, attribute=None):
if attribute is None:
facts.pop(entity, …
Find Zombie Processes on Linux with Python
Parse the output of `ps -eo pid,stat,comm` to detect processes in zombie state (Z) on a Linux system and report their PIDs and commands.
#!/usr/bin/env python3
import os
import subprocess
def find_zombie_processes():
"""Find zombie processes (state 'Z') running on Linux."""
try:
result = subprocess.run(['ps', '-eo', 'pid,stat,comm'], capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
zombies = []
for line in result.stdout.stri…
How to Save a VM Snapshot State to a JSON File in Python
Define a dataclass for a VM snapshot and serialize it to a JSON file, then reload it to verify the state.
import json
from dataclasses import dataclass, asdict
from pathlib import Path
@dataclass
class VMSnapshot:
name: str
memory_mb: int
disk_gb: int
state: str = "saved"
def snapshot_to_file(self, path: Path) -> str:
"""Write snapshot state to a JSON file and return the filename."""
…
Scrape HTML Tables in Python with html.parser
Extract data from HTML tables using Python's built-in html.parser module, without third-party dependencies, by overriding callback methods to track table, row, and cell states.
import html.parser
from urllib.request import urlopen
class TableParser(html.parser.HTMLParser):
def __init__(self):
super().__init__()
self.in_table = False
self.in_row = False
self.in_cell = False
self.current_cell = []
self.rows = []
self.row = []
d…
Toggle VPN Mock Network Manager Script in Python
Simulate a VPN manager with connect, disconnect, toggle, and status methods for testing or demo workflows.
import time
class MockVPNManager:
def __init__(self):
self.is_connected = False
self.servers = ["us-west", "eu-central", "asia-east"]
self.active_server = None
def toggle(self):
if self.is_connected:
self.disconnect()
else:
self.connect()
d…
How to Mock Git Worktree Creation in Python
Create a mock Git worktree setup with parallel branch directories and state files for testing or simulation.
import os
import tempfile
from pathlib import Path
def create_mock_worktree(base_dir: Path, branches: list[str]) -> dict[str, Path]:
"""
Mock Git worktree creation: creates parallel directories for each branch
under the base directory, simulating independent worktrees.
"""
worktrees = {}
for b…
Mock AWS Spot Instance Interruption Handler in Python
A Python class that simulates AWS Spot instance interruption checks, handling the 10% chance of termination, logging state-saving, and storing notice details.
import time
import random
class SpotInstanceHandler:
def __init__(self, instance_id):
self.instance_id = instance_id
self.interruption_notices = []
def start(self):
print(f"Spot instance {self.instance_id} started")
def check_interruption(self):
# Simulate random interrup…
Mock ECS Task Run Stop Status Dict in Python
Build a mock ECS task status dictionary with RUNNING/STOPPED states using the standard library.
from datetime import datetime, timezone
def mock_ecs_task_status(task_id: str, state: str = "RUNNING") -> dict:
"""Return a mock ECS task status dictionary."""
return {
"taskArn": f"arn:aws:ecs:us-east-1:123456789012:task/cluster/{task_id}",
"taskDefinition": "arn:aws:ecs:us-east-1:1234567890…
How to Share a Dict and List Between Processes with multiprocessing Manager in Python
This code demonstrates how to share a dictionary and a list between multiple processes using multiprocessing.Manager, enabling safe concurrent updates.
import multiprocessing as mp
def worker(shared_dict, shared_list, name):
shared_dict[name] = name.upper()
shared_list.append(name)
print(f"{name} added to shared structures")
def main():
with mp.Manager() as manager:
shared_dict = manager.dict()
shared_list = manager.list()
…
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.
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…
Circuit Breaker Pattern in Python: Closed, Open, and Half-Open States
Implement a circuit breaker with closed, open, and half-open states to prevent repeated calls to failing services and allow recovery after a timeout.
class CircuitBreaker:
def __init__(self, failure_threshold=3, timeout_seconds=5):
self.failure_threshold = failure_threshold
self.timeout_seconds = timeout_seconds
self.state = "closed"
self.failure_count = 0
self.last_failure_time = None
def record_success(self):
…
How to Build an MVP Presenter View Mock in Python
A minimal MVP (Model-View-Presenter) mock showing a Presenter controlling a SlideDeck model with slide navigation and typed state via dataclasses.
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
from typing import List
@dataclass
class SlideDeck:
title: str
slides: List[str] = field(default_factory=list)
current_index: int = 0
def next_slide(self) -> str:
if self.current_index < len(self.slides) - 1:
self.current_index += 1
…
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