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How to Mock a Slow Startup Probe in Python
Simulate slow service initialization with a configurable mock delay to test readiness probes.
import time
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
@dataclass
class StartupProbe:
name: str
min_wait_sec: float = 0.5
max_wait_sec: float = 2.0
_ready: bool = field(default=False, init=False, repr=False)
def initialize(self) -> None:
"""Simulate slow startup with a fixed mock delay."""…
How to Mock a Timeout per HTTP Request in Python
Simulate a per-request HTTP timeout using unittest.mock to test timeout handling without network access.
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
# Simulate an HTTP client that might time out
def fetch_data(url, timeout=5):
time.sleep(0.5) # Simulate network delay
return f"Response from {url}"
# Mock to test timeout behavior without real network
def test_timeout():
mock_response = Mock(side_effect…
How to Propagate Context Variables with asyncio in Python
Use Python's ContextVar with asyncio to carry deadline information across concurrent tasks and propagate context automatically.
import asyncio
from contextvars import ContextVar
from datetime import datetime
deadline = ContextVar("deadline", default=None)
async def worker(name):
current = deadline.get()
if current:
print(f"{name} sees deadline: {current}")
else:
print(f"{name} sees no deadline")
await asyncio.…
How to Retry on Specific Exception Tuples in Python
A decorator-based retry pattern that retries a function only when it raises exceptions specified in a tuple, with configurable retries and delay.
import time
import random
from unittest.mock import patch
def retry_on_exceptions(retries=3, exceptions=(ValueError,), delay=0.1):
def decorator(func):
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
for attempt in range(retries):
try:
return func(*args, **kwargs)
…
How to Send Messages to a Dead Letter Queue in Python
Simulates a poison message queue that retries failed messages up to a limit before moving them to a dead letter queue.
import json
class PoisonMessageQueue:
def __init__(self, max_retries=3):
self.dlq = []
self.max_retries = max_retries
self.processed_count = 0
self.failed_count = 0
def process_message(self, message_body):
if "poison" in message_body:
self.failed_count += 1…
How to Simulate an Outbox Pattern with Reliable Retry in Python
This code implements a mock outbox pattern with records, delivery attempts, and retries to simulate reliable message publishing.
import time
import itertools
class Outbox:
def __init__(self):
self._records = []
self._seq = itertools.count(1)
def publish(self, topic, payload):
record = {
"id": next(self._seq),
"topic": topic,
"payload": payload,
"status": "pending"…
How to Stop Receiving Requests Until Ready in Python
A mock server that refuses requests until a readiness gate is passed, simulating fail-stop behavior for production reliability.
import random
import time
class MockServer:
def __init__(self):
self.ready = False
self.requests_received = 0
def readiness_check(self):
"""Simulates a readiness probe. Returns True only when ready."""
if not self.ready:
return False
return True
def r…
How to implement a rate-limited shared counter in Python
Implements a thread-safe global counter that allows a maximum number of increments per second using a lock and time-based refill.
import threading
import time
import random
counter = 0
lock = threading.Lock()
MAX_CALLS_PER_SECOND = 3
last_refill = time.time()
def rate_limited_increment():
global counter, last_refill
with lock:
now = time.time()
if now - last_refill >= 1.0:
last_refill = now
count…
How to implement an idempotency key store in Python
Build an in-memory idempotency key store with TTL that processes a request once and reuses the cached result for duplicate calls.
import hashlib
import time
from typing import Dict, Optional
class IdempotencyStore:
"""Simple in-memory idempotency key store with mock processing."""
def __init__(self, ttl_seconds: int = 3600) -> None:
self.ttl = ttl_seconds
self._store: Dict[str, tuple[str, float]] = {}
def _is_expi…
How to implement rate limiting in Python
A beginner-friendly Python rate limiter that throttles API calls and retries parsing tasks with exponential backoff.
import time
import random
class RateLimiter:
def __init__(self, max_calls, per_seconds):
self.max_calls = max_calls
self.per_seconds = per_seconds
self.timestamps = []
def allow(self):
now = time.time()
self.timestamps = [t for t in self.timestamps if now - t < sel…
How to implement rate limiting per API key in Python
A simple sliding-window rate limiter that tracks request timestamps per API key and rejects requests exceeding the configured limit.
import time
API_RATE_LIMITS = {"api_key_1": 5, "api_key_2": 3} # max requests per window
WINDOW_SECONDS = 10
class RateLimiter:
def __init__(self, limits, window):
self.limits = limits
self.window = window
self.requests = {key: [] for key in limits}
def allow(self, api_key):
…
How to mock a fallback return value in Python
Test a function that returns a default value on failure by mocking requests.get and its side effects.
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
import requests
def fetch_data(url, default=None):
try:
response = requests.get(url)
response.raise_for_status()
return response.json()
except (requests.RequestException, ValueError):
return default
with patch("requests.get") as mock_get:
…
How to retry idempotent operations with a mock in Python
Wrap a flaky idempotent operation in a retry loop with exponential backoff, and use unittest.mock to deterministically test the str's behavior.
import random
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock
def idempotent_operation(value):
"""Simulate an idempotent operation that sometimes fails."""
if random.random() < 0.6: # 60% failure rate
raise ConnectionError("Temporary failure")
return value * 2
def retry_with_backoff(operation, max_…
Implement a Circuit Breaker Pattern in Python
This code implements a simple circuit breaker that opens after a threshold of consecutive failures, causing subsequent calls to fail fast without invoking the underlying function.
class CircuitBreaker:
def __init__(self, failure_threshold=3):
self.failure_threshold = failure_threshold
self.failure_count = 0
self.open = False
def call(self, func, *args, **kwargs):
if self.open:
raise RuntimeError("Circuit is open - failing fast")
try:
…
Implementing Fallback with Cached Stale Data in Python
This code demonstrates a resilient data-fetching pattern that caches successful responses, falls back to cached data when the external API fails, and returns stale data as a last-resort fallback.
import random
import time
# Simulated cache dictionary: key -> (value, timestamp)
_cache = {}
_CACHE_TTL = 3 # seconds
# Mock data source (simulates an unreliable external API)
def fetch_mock_data(key):
failure = random.random() < 0.4 # 40% chance of failure
if failure:
raise ConnectionError("Mock …
Mock Distributed Rate Limiter with Dict in Python
Simulates a distributed token-bucket rate limiter with a thread-safe dict, useful for testing before moving to Redis.
import time
import threading
from collections import defaultdict
class DistributedRateLimiter:
"""
A mock distributed rate limiter using a dict with thread-safe access.
Implements a token bucket algorithm per user.
"""
def __init__(self, rate_per_second=5, burst_capacity=10):
self.rate_p…
Mock a Two-Phase Commit Coordinator in Python
Simulates a two-phase commit protocol where a coordinator asks participants to prepare, then commits or aborts based on unanimous readiness.
import random
import time
from typing import Dict, List
class TwoPhaseCommitCoordinator:
def __init__(self, participants: List[str]):
self.participants = participants
self.participant_state: Dict[str, bool] = {}
def prepare(self) -> bool:
print("[Coordinator] Phase 1: Prepare")
…
Rate Limit per User ID in Python with a Dict Mock
Implements a simple sliding window rate limiter using a defaultdict of timestamps per user ID, blocking requests that exceed a max count within a time window.
import time
from collections import defaultdict
class RateLimiter:
def __init__(self, max_requests, window_seconds):
self.max_requests = max_requests
self.window_seconds = window_seconds
self.user_timestamps = defaultdict(list)
def allow_request(self, user_id):
now = time.tim…
Rate Limiting in Python with a Sliding Window
A beginner-friendly dataclass-based sliding window rate limiter that controls how many calls are allowed per time window.
import time
from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass
class RateLimiter:
max_calls: int
window_seconds: float = 1.0
def __post_init__(self):
self.calls = []
self._start = time.monotonic()
def _update(self, now):
self.calls = [t for t in self.calls if now - t < self.window…
Rate Limiting with Queue Rejection in Python
Simulates a load shed pattern that rejects tasks when a queue fills up.
from collections import deque
import time
class RateLimiter:
def __init__(self, max_queue_size=3):
self.queue = deque()
self.max_queue_size = max_queue_size
self.rejected_count = 0
def submit(self, task_name):
if len(self.queue) >= self.max_queue_size:
self.reject…
Retry with Exponential Backoff and Jitter in Python
A decorator-style retry wrapper that retries a flaky function with exponential backoff plus random jitter, then raises after the last attempt fails.
import random
import time
def retry_with_backoff(func, max_retries=3, base_delay=0.5, max_jitter=0.1):
for attempt in range(max_retries + 1):
try:
return func()
except Exception as e:
if attempt == max_retries:
raise
delay = base_delay * (2 ** at…
Saga Compensating Transaction Mock in Python
Simulates a distributed transaction using a saga pattern with compensating actions that roll back steps on failure.
import random
import time
class OrderService:
def __init__(self):
self.orders = {}
def create_order(self, order_id):
print(f"[Order] Creating order {order_id}...")
time.sleep(0.1)
if random.random() < 0.3: # 30% chance of failure
raise RuntimeError(f"Order {order…
Token bucket rate limiter in Python (in-memory)
Implement a thread-safe in-memory token bucket rate limiter that throttles requests based on a steady refill rate.
import time
import threading
class TokenBucket:
def __init__(self, capacity, refill_rate, refill_interval=1.0):
self.capacity = capacity
self.tokens = capacity
self.refill_rate = refill_rate
self.refill_interval = refill_interval
self.last_refill = time.monotonic()
…
Adding a Correlation ID to Log Context in Python
Injects a correlation ID into the logging context using a context manager and a custom log record factory so every log line includes the ID.
import logging
import uuid
from contextlib import contextmanager
logging.basicConfig(level=logging.INFO, format='%(levelname)s | %(correlation_id)s | %(message)s')
@contextmanager
def correlation_id_context(correlation_id):
"""Temporarily inject a correlation_id into the logging context."""
extra = {'correl…
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