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Python Code Samples

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

6 matches
Algorithms & data structures medium

How to Find the n Smallest Items in a Large List with heapq in Python

This code demonstrates how to efficiently extract the n smallest items from a large list using Python's heapq module and a manual max-heap approach.

heapq heaps large data
Python
import heapq

def n_smallest_iterable(data, n):
    """Return the n smallest items without loading the whole list."""
    if n <= 0:
        return []
    return heapq.nsmallest(n, data)

def n_smallest_manual(data, n):
    """Return the n smallest using a heap, O(n log k) time."""
    if n <= 0:
        return []
   …
13 0 Open
Data pipelines & processing medium

How to Find Missing Values in Large Datasets in Python

Analyze missing values across multiple large pandas DataFrames with counts and percentages.

pandas missing-data data-cleaning
Python
import pandas as pd
import numpy as np

def find_missing_values_summary(datasets):
    """Analyze missing values across multiple datasets (dict of name: DataFrame)."""
    summary = {}
    for name, df in datasets.items():
        missing_count = df.isnull().sum()
        total_rows = len(df)
        missing_pct = (mi…
41 0 Open
Big data & Spark medium

Approximate Distinct Count in Python with HyperLogLog

Mock a large data stream and estimate the number of distinct items with a HyperLogLog-style probabilistic counter to save memory.

hyperloglog distinct-count probabilistic
Python
import random
import string
from collections import Counter
import math

class ApproxCountDistinct:
    def __init__(self, num_buckets=16):
        self.num_buckets = num_buckets
        self.max_zeros = [0] * num_buckets
        
    def _hash(self, item):
        # Simple string hash to a 32-bit integer
        h = …
14 0 Open
Big data & Spark medium

Bloom Filter Join Mock in Python

A mock hash join that uses a Bloom filter to pre-filter one table before performing an exact match, reducing the number of comparisons in large dataset joins.

bloom filter join hashing
Python
import hashlib
import random
import string


class BloomFilter:
    def __init__(self, size: int = 200, num_hashes: int = 3):
        self.bits = [False] * size
        self.size = size
        self.num_hashes = num_hashes

    def _hashes(self, item: str):
        result = []
        for seed in range(self.num_hashes…
12 0 Open
Big data & Spark easy

How to Mock a Hash Join on Large and Small Tables in Python

This code efficiently joins a large dataset (1000 rows) with a small lookup table (20 rows) by building a dictionary hash lookup, mimicking a hash join strategy used in big data systems.

hash-join dictionaries data-join
Python
import random
from pprint import pprint

# Large table: 1000 rows (id, group_id, value)
large = [{"id": i, "group_id": random.randint(1, 20), "value": random.random() * 100} for i in range(1000)]

# Small table: 20 rows (group_id, label)
small = [{"group_id": g, "label": f"Group-{g}"} for g in range(1, 21)]

# Mock a …
13 0 Open
Database scaling & optimization medium

Approximate Count with HyperLogLog in Python

A mock HyperLogLog implementation uses hash-based registers to estimate cardinality of large datasets with sublinear memory.

hyperloglog cardinality hash
Python
import hashlib

class HyperLogLog:
    def __init__(self, precision=4):
        if precision < 4 or precision > 16:
            raise ValueError("precision must be between 4 and 16")
        self.precision = precision
        self.registers = [0] * (1 << precision)

    def _hash(self, value):
        return int(hashl…
14 0 Open

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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.

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  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.