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Copy-ready Python snippets by topic and difficulty — short, focused, and runnable in the browser editor.
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 Dead Code in a Python Project Using AST
Walk a project tree, parse every Python file with ast, and list defined functions that are never called anywhere.
import ast
import os
import sys
def find_dead_code(project_path):
defined_functions = {}
called_functions = set()
for root, dirs, files in os.walk(project_path):
for file in files:
if file.endswith('.py'):
filepath = os.path.join(root, file)
with open(f…
How to check Python files for common coding mistakes
Walks a directory tree parsing each .py file with ast, reporting empty functions, bare try blocks, too many parameters, and empty classes.
import ast
import os
import sys
def check_file(filepath):
try:
with open(filepath) as f:
code = f.read()
tree = ast.parse(code, filename=filepath)
except SyntaxError as e:
print(f"{filepath}: SyntaxError: {e.msg}")
return
issues = []
for node in ast.wal…
Create Data Helper Functions in Python for Beginners
Build reusable Python helper functions to load, filter, sort, summarize, and save JSON data — a beginner-friendly starting point for small data pipelines.
import json
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any, Dict, List
def load_json_file(filepath: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
"""Load JSON data from a file."""
with Path(filepath).open("r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
return json.load(file)
def filter_by_key(
data: List[Dict[str, Any]], key: str,…
How to Build Data Processing Functions in Python
Create reusable helper functions to load, filter, transform, and aggregate CSV data in Python.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
def load_data(filepath):
"""Load CSV data into a list of dicts."""
with open(filepath, "r", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as f:
return list(csv.DictReader(f))
def filter_rows(rows, column, value):
"""Keep rows where column equals value."""
return [row for…
Pipeline stage compose functions left to right in Python
Compose multiple functions into a left-to-right pipeline so each stage receives the output of the previous one.
def compose(*funcs):
"""Compose functions left to right: compose(f, g, h)(x) == h(g(f(x)))"""
def composed(arg):
result = arg
for func in funcs:
result = func(result)
return result
return composed
if __name__ == "__main__":
def add_one(x):
return x + 1
…
Python Exponential Backoff Retry Example
Retry a flaky function with exponential backoff and jitter-free delays, printing each attempt and finally returning the successful result.
import random
import time
def flaky_function():
if random.random() < 0.6:
raise ConnectionError("Temporary network error")
return "success"
def retry_with_exponential_backoff(func, max_retries=5, base_delay=1.0):
for attempt in range(max_retries + 1):
try:
return func()
…
Test a Python Pipeline with Fixture Sample Rows
Test pipeline functions with sample rows provided by a pytest fixture, verifying required keys and value constraints.
import pytest
def get_value(data: dict, key: str):
return data.get(key)
def sample_rows():
return [
{"name": "Alice", "age": 30, "city": "London"},
{"name": "Bob", "age": 25, "city": "Paris"},
{"name": "Charlie", "age": 35, "city": "Berlin"},
]
@pytest.fixture
def sample_data(…
How to Mock Azure Key Vault Secret Get in Python
Mock an Azure Key Vault client's get_secret method with unittest.mock to test functions that retrieve secret values without hitting the real service.
import unittest
from unittest.mock import MagicMock, patch
def get_secret(key_vault_client, secret_name):
"""Retrieve a secret value from an Azure Key Vault client."""
secret = key_vault_client.get_secret(secret_name)
return secret.value
class TestKeyVaultSecretGet(unittest.TestCase):
def test_get_…
How to Mock GCP Cloud Functions HTTP Events in Python
Simulate a GCP Cloud Functions HTTP event with a Python mock handler that constructs a realistic event payload and returns a JSON response.
import json
from datetime import datetime, timezone
def mock_http_event(data):
"""Simulate a GCP Cloud Function HTTP event."""
event = {
"event_id": "mock-event-12345",
"timestamp": datetime.now(timezone.utc).isoformat(),
"event_type": "google.cloud.functions.http",
"resource"…
How to Validate Data Fields and Types in Python
Validate required fields and type correctness in a Python dictionary with small helper functions, returning a list of clear error messages.
import json
from typing import Any, Dict, List
def validate_data(data: Dict[str, Any], required_fields: List[str]) -> List[str]:
"""Check required fields exist and are non-empty. Return list of errors."""
errors = []
for field in required_fields:
value = data.get(field)
if value is None o…
Data Conversion Helper Functions in Python
A set of beginner-friendly helper functions to convert between JSON strings and Python data, parse dates, and read/write files using pathlib.
from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path
import json
def to_json(data, indent=2):
"""Convert Python data to pretty-printed JSON string."""
return json.dumps(data, indent=indent, default=str)
def from_json(json_string):
"""Parse JSON string back into Python data."""
return json.loads(jso…
How to Format Data with Python's datetime and JSON Helpers
A beginner-friendly set of helper functions to format dates and safely read/write JSON files in Python.
from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path
import json
def format_today(pattern: str = "%Y-%m-%d") -> str:
"""Return today's date formatted with the given pattern."""
return datetime.now().strftime(pattern)
def load_json(file_path: str) -> dict:
"""Read and parse a JSON file safely."""
…
How to Mock Fabric Connections in Python for Task Testing
Create a lightweight MockConnection class to replace fabric.Connection and test task functions without SSH.
from fabric import Connection
class MockConnection:
"""Minimal mock of fabric.Connection for task testing."""
def __init__(self):
self.commands = []
def run(self, command, **kwargs):
self.commands.append(command)
return f"OK: {command}"
def deploy(conn):
"""Deploy the app:…
Build a Python Performance Profiler That Generates Readable Reports
Use cProfile and pstats to profile Python functions and print a sorted performance report showing the top time-consuming calls.
import cProfile
import pstats
import io
from pathlib import Path
def slow_function():
total = 0
for i in range(500_000):
total += i ** 2
return total
def fast_function():
total = sum(i * i for i in range(500_000))
return total
def profile_functions():
profiler = cProfile.Profile()
…
How to Memoize Async Functions with lru_cache in Python
Cache async function results with functools.lru_cache to avoid repeated expensive awaits, cutting total execution from ~0.4s to ~0.2s in this example.
from functools import lru_cache
import asyncio
@lru_cache(maxsize=128)
async def fetch_data(user_id: int) -> str:
# Simulate expensive async operation
await asyncio.sleep(0.1)
return f"Data for user {user_id}"
async def main():
start = asyncio.get_event_loop().time()
# First calls (miss cach…
How to Memoize Pure Functions with functools.lru_cache in Python
Use functools.lru_cache to memoize a pure Fibonacci function and avoid recomputing repeated values.
from functools import lru_cache
@lru_cache(maxsize=128)
def fibonacci(n: int) -> int:
"""Return the nth Fibonacci number (0-indexed) using memoization."""
if n < 2:
return n
return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2)
if __name__ == "__main__":
for i in range(10):
print(f"fibonacci({…
How to Run Blocking Code in an Executor with asyncio in Python
This code runs blocking functions concurrently without stalling the event loop by offloading them to thread pool executors via asyncio.
import asyncio
import time
def blocking_task(name: str, duration: float) -> str:
"""Simulate a blocking operation."""
time.sleep(duration)
return f"Finished {name} after {duration}s"
async def main() -> None:
loop = asyncio.get_running_loop()
results = await asyncio.gather(
loop.run_in_…
How to Use multiprocessing Pool map and starmap in Python
Parallelize functions over iterables with Pool.map, and unpack multiple arguments via Pool.starmap.
from multiprocessing import Pool
def square(x):
return x * x
def add_and_multiply(a, b, c):
return (a + b) * c
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
with Pool(processes=2) as pool:
squares = pool.map(square, numbers)
print(f"squares: {squares}")
starmap_arg…
How to Use pool.map for CPU-Bound Tasks in Python
Distribute CPU-intensive functions across processes with multiprocessing.Pool.map and measure the performance gain.
from multiprocessing import Pool
import time
def cpu_bound_task(n):
"""Mock CPU-bound work: compute sum of squares."""
total = 0
for i in range(n):
total += i * i
return total
if __name__ == "__main__":
numbers = [10_000_000, 12_000_000, 8_000_000, 15_000_000]
start = time.perf_count…
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…
How to use ThreadPoolExecutor for concurrent tasks in Python
Run blocking functions in parallel with ThreadPoolExecutor and as_completed, cutting total runtime from 5 sequential sleeps to about 1 second.
import time
from concurrent.futures import ThreadPoolExecutor, as_completed
def fetch_data(item):
"""Simulate a slow operation with a fixed delay."""
time.sleep(0.2)
return item * 2
def main():
items = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
start = time.perf_counter()
with ThreadPoolExecutor(max_workers=3) as ex…
How to Compare Execution Speed Between Python Functions
Measure and compare the average execution time of multiple Python functions using a reusable benchmark helper with time.perf_counter.
import time
import random
def method_a(values):
"""Sort using built-in sorted."""
return sorted(values)
def method_b(values):
"""Sort using list's sort method."""
values_copy = values[:]
values_copy.sort()
return values_copy
def method_c(values):
"""Sort manually using bubble sort (slow,…
How to Use Basic Type Hints (int, str) for Return Values in Python
Declare a simple function with int and str type hints and a typed return value in Python.
def greet(name: str, age: int) -> str:
return f"{name} is {age} years old."
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(greet("Alice", 30))
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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.