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How to Read a TSV File in Python with csv.DictReader
Read a tab-separated (TSV) file into dictionaries using the csv module's DictReader with a tab delimiter.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
data_file = Path("data.tsv")
# Sample TSV content (tab-separated)
sample = """name\tage\tcity
Alice\t30\tNew York
Bob\t25\tLos Angeles
Carol\t35\tChicago
"""
data_file.write_text(sample)
with data_file.open("r", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as f:
reader = csv.DictReader(f, d…How to Sort Files by Name and Size in Python
Sort a list of file dictionaries by name then size using Python's sorted() with a lambda key.
from pathlib import Path
def sort_files_data(files):
"""Sort a list of file dictionaries by name, then by size."""
return sorted(files, key=lambda f: (f["name"], f["size"]))
if __name__ == "__main__":
files_data = [
{"name": "report.pdf", "size": 2048},
{"name": "data.csv", "size": 1024},…How to Write Simple XML Documents with ElementTree in Python
Create well-structured XML documents in memory using Python's built-in ElementTree module, complete with nested elements, attributes, and text content.
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def create_xml_document():
# Create root element
root = ET.Element("catalog")
# Create a book element with attributes and children
book1 = ET.SubElement(root, "book", id="bk101")
ET.SubElement(book1, "author").text = "Gambardella, Matthew"
ET.SubElement(…Read SQLite database with sqlite3 module in Python
Connect to a SQLite database and query rows with the standard library sqlite3 module, returning results as dictionaries.
import sqlite3
from pathlib import Path
# Create an in-memory database and a sample table
connection = sqlite3.connect(":memory:")
cursor = connection.cursor()
cursor.execute("""
CREATE TABLE employees (
id INTEGER PRIMARY KEY,
name TEXT NOT NULL,
department TEXT NOT NULL,
salary REAL
)
""")
# Inser…Read an XML File with xml.etree.ElementTree in Python
Parse an XML file and print its root and child elements using the standard library's xml.etree.ElementTree module.
import xml.etree.ElementTree as ET
def read_xml_file(file_path):
"""Read an XML file and print its structure."""
tree = ET.parse(file_path)
root = tree.getroot()
print(f"Root element: {root.tag}")
for child in root:
print(f"Child element: {child.tag}, text: {child.text}")
if __name__ ==…Split CSV Files into Smaller Chunks in Python
Splits a large CSV file into multiple smaller chunk files, preserving the header row in each chunk.
import csv
import os
def split_csv(input_file, chunk_size=1000, output_prefix="chunk"):
"""Split a large CSV file into smaller chunks."""
with open(input_file, 'r', newline='') as infile:
reader = csv.reader(infile)
header = next(reader)
file_count = 1
row_count = 0
…Serialize Python dict to JSON with custom default for datetime
Convert a Python dict containing datetime and set objects into JSON by providing a custom default serializer.
import json
from datetime import datetime
def custom_serializer(obj):
if isinstance(obj, datetime):
return obj.isoformat()
if isinstance(obj, set):
return list(obj)
return str(obj)
data = {
"name": "Alice",
"created_at": datetime(2024, 3, 15, 10, 30, 45),
"tags": {"python", "j…Define an Enum for Status Codes in Python
Create a readable StatusCode enum with HTTP-style status values and iterate over its members using the standard library Enum class.
from enum import Enum
class StatusCode(Enum):
OK = 200
CREATED = 201
BAD_REQUEST = 400
UNAUTHORIZED = 401
NOT_FOUND = 404
INTERNAL_ERROR = 500
if __name__ == "__main__":
code = StatusCode.NOT_FOUND
print(f"Name: {code.name}")
print(f"Value: {code.value}")
print(f"Is it OK? {co…How to Sample Random Items Without Replacement in Python
Select k random unique items from a sequence using random.sample for uniform, non-repeating selection.
import random
def sample_without_replacement(population, k):
"""Return k random items from population without replacement."""
if k > len(population):
raise ValueError("k cannot exceed population size")
# Use random.sample for O(k) time, no mutation of the original
return random.sample(populati…Generate UUID4 Values with a Python Generator
This code defines a generator function that yields mock UUID4 values, allowing you to stream unique identifiers one at a time.
import uuid
def generate_uuids(count=5):
"""Generate a stream of mock UUID4 values."""
for _ in range(count):
yield uuid.uuid4()
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Generate and print 5 UUIDs
for uid in generate_uuids(5):
print(uid)How to Reset Python's Random Seed for Deterministic Output
This code shows how to seed Python's random module to generate identical random sequences across runs, ensuring reproducibility.
import random
def seeded_random_sequence(seed, count=5, low=1, high=100):
random.seed(seed)
return [random.randint(low, high) for _ in range(count)]
if __name__ == "__main__":
seed_value = 42
first_run = seeded_random_sequence(seed_value)
print("First run:", first_run)
# Reset seed and gener…Bulk Rename Files in Python with Regex Replacement
Renames every file in a directory by applying a regex substitution to its filename using Python's stdlib re and pathlib.
import re
from pathlib import Path
def bulk_rename_regex(directory, pattern, replacement):
path = Path(directory)
renamed = []
for file in path.iterdir():
if file.is_file():
new_name = re.sub(pattern, replacement, file.name)
if new_name != file.name:
new_pat…Create Mock Watermarked Image Bytes in Python Without PIL
Builds a mock image-like byte stream with an embedded watermark using only stdlib modules, for testing pipelines without PIL.
from io import BytesIO
import zlib
import struct
def create_watermarked_bytes(width: int, height: int, watermark: bytes) -> bytes:
"""Create a mock image-like byte stream with a watermark (no PIL)."""
header = struct.pack("<2I", width, height)
payload = watermark * max(1, (width * height // max(1, len(wa…Create a Simple HTTP File Server in Python
This code creates a simple HTTP file server that serves files from the current working directory on port 8000 using Python's built-in http.server module.
import http.server
import socketserver
import os
PORT = 8000
DIRECTORY = os.getcwd()
class CustomHandler(http.server.SimpleHTTPRequestHandler):
def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
super().__init__(*args, directory=DIRECTORY, **kwargs)
def log_message(self, format, *args):
print(f"[{self.log…Extract Attachments from mbox Mailbox Files in Python
Extract file attachments from an mbox mailbox format using Python's standard library email and mailbox modules.
import email
import mailbox
from email.policy import default
from pathlib import Path
def extract_attachments(mbox_path, output_dir):
output_dir = Path(output_dir)
output_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
mbox = mailbox.mbox(mbox_path)
for msg in mbox:
if msg.is_multipart():
for part i…Generate Random Fake User Data for Testing in Python
This code generates a list of fake user dictionaries with random names, emails, ages, and timestamps using the Python standard library for testing purposes.
import json
import random
import string
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def generate_user_data(num_users=1):
first_names = ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie", "Diana", "Eve"]
last_names = ["Smith", "Johnson", "Brown", "Taylor", "Wilson"]
domains = ["example.com", "test.org", "demo.net"]
users = …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…How to Safely Coerce Strings to Numbers in Python
A safe conversion function that turns strings into integers or floats, returning a fallback value when conversion fails.
import math
def to_number(value, fallback=None):
"""Safely coerce a string to int or float, returning fallback on failure."""
if isinstance(value, (int, float)):
return value
try:
# Try int first for clean whole numbers
return int(value)
except (ValueError, TypeError):
…How to Make a Shallow Clone of an Object in Python
Demonstrates using copy.copy() to create a shallow clone of a Python object, showing how nested mutable data is shared while top-level attributes are independent.
import copy
class Config:
def __init__(self):
self.settings = {"volume": 50}
self.user = "admin"
def demonstrate_shallow_copy():
original = Config()
shallow = copy.copy(original)
# Mutating nested object is visible in both (shallow copy share it)
shallow.settings["volume"] = 90…Verify Git tag signatures with HMAC in Python
Create and verify deterministic HMAC-SHA256 signatures for git tags using the Python standard library.
import hashlib
import hmac
def sign_tag(tag: str, secret_key: str) -> str:
"""Create a deterministic HMAC signature for a tag."""
message = tag.encode("utf-8")
key = secret_key.encode("utf-8")
return hmac.new(key, message, hashlib.sha256).hexdigest()
def verify_signed_tag(tag: str, signature: str, …How to Save and Load JSON Files in Python
Create a simple data helper to save Python dictionaries as pretty-printed JSON files and load them back reliably using pathlib and the stdlib json module.
import json
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any
def save_json(data: Any, filename: str) -> None:
"""Save data as pretty-printed JSON to the current directory."""
path = Path(filename)
with path.open("w", encoding="utf-8") as f:
json.dump(data, f, indent=2, ensure_ascii=False)
def lo…How to Use bisect.insort in Python to Maintain a Sorted List
Insert items into an already sorted list using Python's bisect.insort to keep it sorted efficiently in O(n) time.
import bisect
def maintain_sorted_list():
data = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]
sorted_list = []
for num in data:
bisect.insort(sorted_list, num)
print("Original data:", data)
print("Sorted list maintained with insort:", sorted_list)
# Insert new values to maintain sorted orde…How to Group Data by Key in Python with Type Hints
Group a list of dictionaries by a specified key using a typed helper function and print a summary of each group.
from typing import Any, Dict, List, TypeVar, Union
T = TypeVar("T")
def group_by(data: List[Dict[str, Any]], key: str) -> Dict[Any, List[Dict[str, Any]]]:
"""Group a list of dictionaries by a given key."""
grouped: Dict[Any, List[Dict[str, Any]]] = {}
for item in data:
value = item.get(key)
…How to Sort Data in Python
Sort sequences with type-safe helpers that handle mixed data with a string fallback.
from typing import Any, TypeVar, Protocol, Sequence, Iterable
T = TypeVar("T")
Comparable = TypeVar("Comparable", bound="Comparable")
class Sortable(Protocol):
def __lt__(self, other: Any) -> bool: ...
S = TypeVar("S", bound=Sortable)
def sort_data(data: Sequence[S], *, reverse: bool = False) -> list[S]:
"…Browse by section
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