Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

211 matches
Data pipelines & processing medium

Deduplicate events by ID within a window in Python

Deduplicate event streams by ID within sliding time windows, keeping the newest occurrence per window using heaps and sets.

deduplication events heapq
Python
import heapq
from collections import defaultdict

def deduplicate_events(events, window_size):
    """Return events deduplicated by id, keeping newest within each sliding window."""
    # Index events by (timestamp, id) for deterministic ordering
    events_by_id = defaultdict(list)
    for ts, eid, *payload in events…
14 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Generate a Mock CDC Changelog in Python

Simulate a CDC changelog with INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE operations, timestamps, and record snapshots for testing data pipelines.

cdc changelog mock-data
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def generate_mock_changelog(records, operations=("INSERT", "UPDATE", "DELETE")):
    """Simulate a CDC changelog from a list of record snapshots."""
    base_time = datetime(2025, 1, 1, 8, 0, 0)
    changelog = []
    for idx, record in enumerate(records):
       …
15 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Group Python Events into Sessions with a Gap Timeout

Groups timestamped events into sessions, starting a new session when the time gap exceeds a specified timeout.

sessions grouping datetime
Python
from itertools import groupby
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def session_window_group(events, gap_seconds=300):
    """Group events into sessions where gap > gap_seconds starts a new session."""
    if not events:
        return []
    
    events = sorted(events, key=lambda x: x[0])
    sessions = []
    c…
14 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Convert Data Types in a Python Data Pipeline

Demonstrates a simple Python data pipeline that converts string values to proper types (bool, int, float, datetime) and outputs structured JSON.

data-pipeline type-conversion json
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime

def convert_value(value):
    """Convert string values to appropriate Python types."""
    if value.lower() == "true":
        return True
    if value.lower() == "false":
        return False
    if value.isdigit():
        return int(value)
    try:
        return float(val…
12 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

How to Count Events by Minute with a Tumbling Window in Python

Group timestamps into fixed 60-second tumbling windows and count events per bucket using a dict.

datetime grouping time-window
Python
from collections import defaultdict
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def tumbling_window_count(events, window_seconds=60):
    buckets = defaultdict(int)
    for event in events:
        ts = datetime.fromisoformat(event["timestamp"])
        bucket_start = ts - timedelta(seconds=ts.second % window_seconds,
…
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Implement Incremental Load with Watermark by updated_at in Python

Load only new or changed rows into SQLite by comparing an updated_at timestamp against a stored watermark, returning counts and the new watermark.

incremental-load watermark sqlite
Python
import sqlite3
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def watermark_incremental_load(db_path, table_name, last_watermark, source_data):
    """Load only rows with updated_at greater than the last watermark."""
    conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
    cursor = conn.cursor()

    # Create table if it doesn't exist
  …
12 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to List Failed Records in a Dead Letter Queue Mock in Python

A mock Dead Letter Queue stores failed processing records with error details and timestamps, lists them, and exports to JSON.

dead-letter-queue json logging
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
import random


class DeadLetterQueue:
    def __init__(self):
        self.failed_records = []

    def add_failed_record(self, record_id, payload, error_message):
        self.failed_records.append({
            "record_id": record_id,
            "payload": paylo…
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to Parse Data in Python: A Beginner's Helper

This helper parses a JSON payload, extracts user names, emails, and signup dates, then summarizes the results.

json parsing data-processing
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime
from typing import Dict, List


def parse_data(payload: str) -> Dict[str, List]:
    """Parse a JSON payload and extract useful fields."""
    raw = json.loads(payload)
    users = raw.get("users", [])

    parsed = {
        "names": [],
        "emails": [],
        "signup_…
16 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

How to route late-arriving data to a side output in Python

Separate late-arriving events from a streaming data batch into a dead-letter side output list using a timestamp threshold.

data pipelines streaming dead-letter
Python
from collections import defaultdict

def late_arriving_side_output(events, late_threshold_ts):
    """
    Mock a streaming pipeline that separates late-arriving data events
    into a side output list (e.g., for dead-letter analysis).

    events: list of (timestamp, data) tuples, timestamps as ints.
    late_thresho…
12 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

Normalize Timestamps to UTC DateTime in Python

Convert timestamps in multiple formats to UTC-aware datetime objects using datetime.strptime and astimezone.

datetime timezone utc
Python
from datetime import datetime, timezone

raw_timestamps = [
    "2024-01-15 14:30:00+02:00",
    "17/05/2024 09:15:00 -0500",
    "2024-03-01T22:45:00Z",
    "2024-06-20 08:00:00+09:30"
]

def parse_and_convert(ts: str) -> datetime:
    normalized_ts = ts.strip().replace("Z", "+00:00")
    formats = [
        "%Y-%m-%…
14 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Rollback dataset to previous snapshot pointer in Python

A SnapshotManager class stores timestamped data snapshots and rolls back to the most recent snapshot at or before a target time.

snapshots rollback datetime
Python
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


class SnapshotManager:
    def __init__(self):
        self.snapshots = {}  # timestamp -> data
        self.current_pointer = None

    def create_snapshot(self, data):
        timestamp = datetime.now()
        self.snapshots[timestamp] = data
        self.current_pointer =…
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing easy

Trigger a Pipeline When a New File Appears in a Directory

Poll a directory every 0.5 seconds and return the name of the first new file that appears, or None after a timeout.

polling filesystem file-watcher
Python
import time
from pathlib import Path


def watch_for_file(directory: str, interval: float = 0.5, timeout: float = 10.0) -> str | None:
    """Poll a directory and trigger when a new file appears."""
    watch_dir = Path(directory)
    watch_dir.mkdir(exist_ok=True)
    
    known_files = set(watch_dir.iterdir())
    s…
13 0 Open
Git + Python medium

How to Make a Git Commit Heatmap by Hour in Python

Parse a git log output and count commits by weekday and hour, then print a compact heatmap table.

git logging datetime
Python
import re
from collections import Counter
from datetime import datetime

def parse_commits(log_text):
    """Parse git log lines and count commits by (weekday, hour)."""
    pattern = re.compile(r"^Date:\s+(.+)$")
    counts = Counter()
    
    for line in log_text.splitlines():
        match = pattern.match(line)
  …
13 0 Open
Git + Python easy

How to Mirror a Bare Git Repository Backup in Python

Run a git clone --bare subprocess to create a timestamped bare-repo backup folder with error handling.

git backup subprocess
Python
import subprocess
import shlex
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime


def mirror_bare_repo(source_url: str, backup_dir: str) -> str:
    """Mirror a bare git repository to a timestamped backup folder."""
    backup_path = Path(backup_dir)
    backup_path.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

    timest…
13 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Generate Mock CloudFormation Stack Events in Python

Generate a list of mock AWS CloudFormation stack events with random resources, statuses, and timestamps, and print them as JSON.

cloudformation mock aws
Python
import json
import random
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def generate_mock_stack_events(stack_name="MyTestStack", num_events=10):
    """Generate a list of mock CloudFormation stack events."""
    resources = [
        ("AWS::S3::Bucket", "MyBucket"),
        ("AWS::EC2::Instance", "MyInstance"),
        ("…
16 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Create a JSON Data Helper in Python

A beginner-friendly DataHelper class that safely reads and writes JSON files with timestamps to a local data directory.

json files data-helper
Python
from datetime import datetime
from pathlib import Path
import json


class DataHelper:
    """Simple helper for reading/writing JSON files safely."""

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

    def save(self, filename, data):
        …
13 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

How to Create a Mock STS AssumeRole Credentials Dict in Python

Build a realistic AWS STS AssumeRole response dict with temporary credentials, expiry time, and assumed role ARN for local testing.

aws sts mocking
Python
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta, timezone


def mock_sts_credentials(role_arn, session_name, duration=3600):
    now = datetime.now(timezone.utc)
    expiration = now + timedelta(seconds=duration)

    credentials = {
        "Credentials": {
            "AccessKeyId": "ASIAEXAMPLEACCESSKEY",
    …
14 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Mock ECS Task Run Stop Status Dict in Python

Build a mock ECS task status dictionary with RUNNING/STOPPED states using the standard library.

aws ecs mocking
Python
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…
15 0 Open
Cloud + Python easy

Mock GCP Secret Manager access version in Python

A minimal mock of GCP Secret Manager that stores secret versions, retrieves payloads by version, and logs access timestamps.

gcp secret-manager mock
Python
import json
import time
from datetime import datetime, timezone


class MockSecretManager:
    """Minimal mock of GCP Secret Manager access/version behavior."""

    def __init__(self):
        self._secrets = {}
        self._access_log = []

    def create_secret(self, secret_id: str, payload: str) -> dict:
        …
15 0 Open
Modern tooling easy

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.

json datetime pathlib
Python
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…
14 0 Open
Modern tooling easy

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.

datetime json files
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."""
    …
12 0 Open
Modern tooling easy

How to Generate a Mock Rollbar Error Report in Python

Create a realistic fake Rollbar error report with random timestamps, levels, messages, and counts for testing and demos.

rollbar mock-data error-reporting
Python
import json
import random
import time
from datetime import datetime, timedelta


def mock_rollbar_report(n_errors=5):
    messages = [
        "TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: 'int' and 'str'",
        "KeyError: 'user_id'",
        "ValueError: invalid literal for int() with base 10: 'abc'",
        "At…
13 0 Open
Modern tooling easy

How to Type Check a Mock with pyright in Python

Shows how pyright validates a mock function against a TypedDict and Callable signature before runtime.

pyright type-checking mocking
Python
from typing import TypedDict, Callable


class User(TypedDict):
    id: int
    name: str


def get_user_name(user_id: int, get_user: Callable[[int], User]) -> str:
    user = get_user(user_id)
    return user["name"]


def mock_get_user(user_id: int) -> User:
    return {"id": user_id, "name": f"User {user_id}"}


if…
15 0 Open
Concurrency & performance medium

Benchmark list.append vs deque.append in Python

Measures and compares the performance of appending to a Python list versus a collections.deque using timeit.repeat, showing best and average timings.

benchmark performance list
Python
"""Benchmark list.append vs collections.deque.append."""

import timeit

def bench(stmt, setup, repeat=5, number=1_000_000):
    times = timeit.repeat(stmt, setup=setup, repeat=repeat, number=number)
    return min(times), sum(times) / len(times)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    number = 1_000_000
    list_best, list_a…
14 0 Open

Browse by section

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.