Reference library

Python Code Samples

Copy-ready Python snippets by topic and difficulty — short, focused, and runnable in the browser editor.

118 matches
Files & data easy

Detect Outliers in CSV Data Using Z-Score in Python

Read a CSV file and detect outliers in a numeric column by computing z-scores, flagging those exceeding a given threshold — no machine learning required.

outlier-detection z-score csv
Python
import csv
import statistics
from math import sqrt

def detect_outliers(csv_path, column_name, threshold=2.0):
    """Detect outliers in a numeric column using z-score method."""
    values = []
    with open(csv_path, 'r', newline='') as f:
        reader = csv.DictReader(f)
        if column_name not in reader.field…
50 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Handle Missing Values in a CSV Numeric Column in Python

Clean missing entries in a CSV numeric column by filling them with the mean, median, a custom value, or dropping rows.

csv data-cleaning statistics
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path
import statistics

def clean_csv_numeric(input_path: str, output_path: str, column: str, strategy: str = "mean") -> None:
    """
    Handles missing values in a numeric column of a CSV file.
    Strategies: 'mean', 'median', 'drop', or 'fill' with a specified value.
    """
    row…
12 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets easy

Convert Lists and Dictionaries to Sets in Python

Convert lists of pairs into dictionaries and lists or dictionaries into sets using simple helper functions.

dict set conversion
Python
def convert_to_dict(data):
    """Convert list of tuples or lists into a dictionary."""
    return dict(data)


def convert_to_set(data):
    """Convert list or dictionary into a set of its keys/values."""
    if isinstance(data, dict):
        return set(data.keys())
    return set(data)


def convert_collection(data…
14 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets easy

How to Use Counter for Most Common Elements in Python

This code demonstrates how to find the most frequent elements in a list using Python's Counter class from the collections module.

collections counter frequency
Python
from collections import Counter

def most_common_elements(items, n=1):
    """Return the n most common elements and their counts."""
    counter = Counter(items)
    return counter.most_common(n)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    data = ["apple", "banana", "apple", "orange", "banana", "apple", "grape"]
    print(most_co…
13 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets easy

How to Use Dictionaries and Sets in Python for Beginners

Demonstrates Python dictionary operations and set operations with examples, including access, modification, defaults, and set algebra.

dictionary set beginner
Python
def demonstrate_collections():
    # Dictionary basics
    student = {
        "name": "Alice",
        "age": 20,
        "courses": ["Math", "Physics"]
    }
    print("Dictionary:", student)

    # Access and modify
    student["age"] = 21
    student["grade"] = "A"
    print("Modified:", student)

    # Get with d…
11 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets easy

How to Use Dictionaries and Sets in Python for Beginners

Introduces Python dictionaries and sets with practical examples including creating, modifying, and performing set operations, plus a word-frequency counter.

dictionaries sets data structures
Python
def demonstrate_dict_sets():
    # Create a dictionary with basic info
    person = {
        "name": "Alice",
        "age": 30,
        "city": "New York"
    }
    print("Dictionary:", person)

    # Access and modify dictionary values
    person["age"] = 31
    person["email"] = "alice@example.com"
    print("Afte…
15 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures easy

Bucket Numbers into Histogram Bin Counts in Python

Partition a list of numbers into equal-width histogram bins and count how many fall into each bin using only the Python standard library.

histogram bins statistics
Python
from collections import Counter

def histogram_bins(numbers, num_bins):
    """Bucket numbers into histogram bin counts."""
    if not numbers:
        return []
    
    min_val = min(numbers)
    max_val = max(numbers)
    bin_width = (max_val - min_val) / num_bins
    
    # Handle edge case where all values are id…
18 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures easy

How to Generate Permutations of Length r in Python

Generate and print all r-length permutations of a list using Python's itertools.permutations.

permutations itertools combinations
Python
from itertools import permutations

def show_permutations(items, r):
    result = list(permutations(items, r))
    for perm in result:
        print(perm)
    print(f"Total: {len(result)}")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    data = ["A", "B", "C"]
    show_permutations(data, 2)
15 0 Open
Comprehensions & generators easy

How to Generate Permutations of Length r in Python

Generate all ordered arrangements of length r from a given list of elements using itertools.permutations.

permutations itertools combinatorics
Python
from itertools import permutations

def generate_permutations(elements, r):
    """Generate all r-length permutations of the given elements."""
    return list(permutations(elements, r))

if __name__ == "__main__":
    elements = ['A', 'B', 'C']
    r = 2
    result = generate_permutations(elements, r)
    print(f"Ele…
14 0 Open
Comprehensions & generators easy

Normalize Data in Python with Comprehensions and Generators

Clean a list by dropping None values with a comprehension, then min-max normalize it using a lazy generator expression — a beginner-friendly data preparation pattern.

comprehensions generators normalization
Python
import statistics

# Sample raw data including missing and outlier-ish values
raw = [22, 18, None, 25, 30, 19, 22, 17, None, 28, 24]

# Clean the data: drop None values using a list comprehension
clean = [x for x in raw if x is not None]

# Normalize using min-max scaling with a generator expression
min_val = min(clea…
13 0 Open
AI & LLM integration patterns medium

How to Detect Prompt Injection in Python

Implements a regex-based heuristic in Python to flag common prompt injection attempts before sending input to an LLM.

prompt-injection regex llm-security
Python
import re

def contains_prompt_injection(user_input: str) -> bool:
    # Directives to ignore previous instructions or act as system
    ignore_patterns = [
        r"\bignore\s+(all\s+)?previous\s+instructions\b",
        r"\bdisregard\s+(all\s+)?previous\s+instructions\b",
        r"\bdon'?t\s+follow\s+(any\s+)?inst…
13 0 Open
AI & LLM integration patterns medium

Track GitHub Repository Growth in Python

A Python dashboard that fetches and displays GitHub repository statistics including stars, forks, creation date, and recent star activity using the GitHub API.

github api requests
Python
import requests
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def track_repo_growth(owner, repo):
    url = f"https://api.github.com/repos/{owner}/{repo}"
    headers = {"Accept": "application/vnd.github.v3+json"}
    response = requests.get(url, headers=headers)
    data = response.json()
    
    name = data…
44 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

Create ICS Calendar Invites in Python

This script generates a batch of calendar invites in the ICS format using the ics library.

ics calendar automation
Python
import ics
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def create_invites(batch):
    calendar = ics.Calendar()
    for event_data in batch:
        event = ics.Event()
        event.name = event_data["name"]
        event.begin = event_data["start"]
        event.end = event_data["end"]
        event.description = even…
11 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to Generate Project Statistics Including Lines of Code and Complexity in Python

Walk through a Python script that scans a project directory for Python files, counts lines of code excluding blanks and comments, and estimates cyclomatic complexity by counting decision keywords.

code metrics lines of code cyclomatic complexity
Python
import os
from pathlib import Path

def count_lines_of_code(filepath):
    """Counts lines of code in a Python file, excluding blank lines and comments."""
    try:
        with open(filepath, 'r') as f:
            lines = f.readlines()
        code_lines = [line for line in lines if line.strip() and not line.strip()…
40 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

How to Merge PDFs in Python (Mock pypdf Stub)

Merge PDF files by concatenating their raw byte content using a simple stubbed class that mimics the pypdf interface.

pdf merge mock
Python
import io
from hashlib import sha256


class PdfStub:
    def __init__(self, data: bytes, name: str):
        self.data = data
        self.name = name

    def get_content_bytes(self) -> bytes:
        return self.data


def merge_pdfs_mock(pdf_stubs) -> bytes:
    merged = io.BytesIO()
    for stub in pdf_stubs:
   …
14 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

How to Track GitHub Stars, Forks, and Watchers in Python

Automatically fetch and track stars, forks, and watchers for multiple GitHub repositories, saving snapshots locally as JSON files for historical analysis.

github api automation
Python
import os
import time
import json
import requests
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime

REPOS = [
    "psf/requests",
    "python/cpython",
    "pallets/flask",
]
DATA_DIR = Path("github_metrics")

def fetch_repo_stats(repo):
    url = f"https://api.github.com/repos/{repo}"
    resp = requests.get(ur…
39 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Count Records Processed per Category in Python

Use a Counter dictionary to track how many records of each type (ok, error, retry) were processed in a data pipeline.

counter metrics data-pipeline
Python
from collections import Counter
import random

processed_counter = Counter()

def process_records(records):
    for record in records:
        processed_counter[record] += 1
    return len(records)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    sample_records = [random.choice(["ok", "error", "retry"]) for _ in range(10)]
    print(f…
15 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Implement a Sliding Window Average in Python

Compute the average of the most recent N values in a stream using a bounded deque, efficiently updating the total as new values arrive.

deque sliding-window streaming
Python
from collections import deque


class SlidingWindowAverage:
    def __init__(self, window_size):
        self.window_size = window_size
        self.window = deque(maxlen=window_size)
        self.total = 0

    def add(self, value):
        if len(self.window) == self.window_size:
            self.total -= self.windo…
15 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to detect anomalies in a column using z-score in Python

Detect outliers in a list of numbers using z-score statistics, flagging values that deviate significantly from the mean.

anomaly-detection z-score statistics
Python
import random

def z_score_anomaly_detection(data, threshold=2.0):
    """
    Detect anomalies in a list of numbers using z-score.
    """
    mean = sum(data) / len(data)
    variance = sum((x - mean) ** 2 for x in data) / len(data)
    std_dev = variance ** 0.5
    
    if std_dev == 0:
        return []
    
    a…
14 0 Open
Git + Python easy

Create a Mock GitHub Release API in Python for Testing gh CLI

Build an in-memory GitHub Releases API mock that mimics create_release and list_releases for unit testing gh CLI stubs without network calls.

mock-api github testing
Python
import json
from unittest.mock import patch, Mock

class GitHubReleaseAPI:
    """Mock GitHub Releases API for testing gh CLI stub behavior."""
    
    def __init__(self):
        self.releases = {}
        self.counter = 1
    
    def create_release(self, repo, tag, name=None, notes=None):
        release_id = self…
16 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Create a Cloud Storage Helper Class in Python

Build a simple local file-based helper class that mimics cloud storage operations like save, load, and list JSON objects.

cloud-storage json file-io
Python
import datetime
import json
from pathlib import Path


class CloudDataHelper:
    """Simple helper for reading/writing JSON files in a cloud-style folder."""

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

    def save_json(se…
15 0 Open
Modern tooling easy

Mock pip-compile to Resolve Requirements in Python

A mock function that mimics pip-compile by converting a requirements.in file into pinned, locked package versions.

pip-tools requirements mock
Python
import subprocess
import tempfile
from pathlib import Path


def compile_requirements_mock(requirements_in: str) -> str:
    """Mock pip-compile: resolve a simple requirements.in into a locked format."""
    lines = [line.strip() for line in requirements_in.splitlines() if line.strip() and not line.startswith("#")]
  …
12 0 Open
Testing & modern typing easy

How to Filter Data in Python with Type Hints

A reusable filter_data helper uses optional predicates and numeric bounds with modern Python type hints.

filtering type-hints generics
Python
from typing import Iterable, TypeVar, Callable, Any

T = TypeVar("T")

def filter_data(
    items: Iterable[T],
    predicate: Callable[[T], bool] | None = None,
    *,
    min_value: float | None = None,
    max_value: float | None = None,
) -> list[T]:
    """Filter items by predicate and/or numeric bounds."""
    r…
11 0 Open
Testing & modern typing easy

How to Use Python Type Hints for Beginners

Build a data helper module with basic type hints — Union, Optional, List, Dict, Any, and TypeVar — to make your code clearer and safer.

type-hints typing annotations
Python
from typing import Any, Union, Optional, List, Dict, Tuple, Callable, TypeVar

T = TypeVar("T")

def describe(value: Any) -> str:
    """Return a human-readable description of the value's type."""
    if isinstance(value, list):
        return f"list of {len(value)} items"
    elif isinstance(value, dict):
        ret…
13 0 Open

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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.