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Python Code Samples

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

42 matches
Strings & text easy

How to Merge Strings in Python

Merge multiple strings or a list of text lines into one string with a custom separator

strings join merging
Python
def merge_strings(*parts, separator=" "):
    """Merge multiple string parts into one string with a separator."""
    return separator.join(parts)


def merge_text_lines(lines, separator="\n"):
    """Merge a list of text lines into a single string."""
    return separator.join(lines)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    …
15 0 Open
Strings & text easy

How to Merge Two Strings Character by Character in Python

Interleave characters from two strings, appending any surplus characters from the longer string at the end.

strings merge interleave
Python
def merge_texts(left: str, right: str) -> str:
    """
    Merges two strings by interleaving their characters:
    first char from left, first from right, then second from left,
    second from right, and so on. If one string is longer, the
    remaining characters are appended at the end.

    Example:
    merge_tex…
14 0 Open
Lists & loops easy

How to Get the Union of Two Lists Without Duplicates in Python

Merge two lists and remove duplicate values using a set, then convert back to a list.

set union merge
Python
def union_without_duplicates(list1, list2):
    return list(set(list1 + list2))

if __name__ == "__main__":
    list_a = [1, 2, 3, 4]
    list_b = [3, 4, 5, 6]
    result = union_without_duplicates(list_a, list_b)
    print(f"Union of {list_a} and {list_b}: {result}")
13 0 Open
Lists & loops easy

How to Merge Two Lists in Python

Merge two Python lists into a single combined list by appending each element with a simple loop, achieving the same result as the + operator.

lists merge loops
Python
def merge_lists(list_a, list_b):
    merged = []
    for item in list_a:
        merged.append(item)
    for item in list_b:
        merged.append(item)
    return merged


if __name__ == "__main__":
    fruits = ["apple", "banana"]
    vegetables = ["carrot", "spinach"]
    result = merge_lists(fruits, vegetables)
  …
14 0 Open
Lists & loops easy

How to Merge Two Sorted Lists in Python

Merge two sorted lists into one sorted list using a two-pointer loop, then extend with remaining elements.

sorting merge two-pointers
Python
def merge_sorted_lists(list1, list2):
    merged = []
    i = j = 0
    
    while i < len(list1) and j < len(list2):
        if list1[i] <= list2[j]:
            merged.append(list1[i])
            i += 1
        else:
            merged.append(list2[j])
            j += 1
    
    merged.extend(list1[i:])
    merged…
14 0 Open
Lists & loops easy

Round Robin Merge Multiple Lists in Python

Merge multiple lists by taking one element from each in turn, stopping when all lists are exhausted.

lists merge interleave
Python
from itertools import cycle

def round_robin_merge(*lists):
    """Merge multiple lists by taking one element from each in turn."""
    result = []
    max_len = max(len(lst) for lst in lists)
    
    for i in range(max_len):
        for lst in lists:
            if i < len(lst):
                result.append(lst[i])…
13 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

How to Merge Lists in Python with Default Parameters

This Python function merges two lists using the + operator and demonstrates default parameters, allowing the second argument to be omitted.

functions default-parameters list
Python
def merge_lists(list1, list2=["default"]):
    """Merge two lists and return the combined result."""
    return list1 + list2


if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Example with default parameter
    print("With default:", merge_lists([1, 2, 3]))
    
    # Example with both arguments provided
    print("With custom:", me…
14 0 Open
Files & data medium

How to Automatically Merge Hundreds of Excel Files Without Losing Formatting in Python

Merge all .xlsx files in a folder into a single Excel workbook, preserving individual sheet structures with sheet name prefixes.

excel pandas merge
Python
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path

def merge_excel_files(folder_path: str, output_path: str) -> None:
    """
    Merge all .xlsx files in a folder into a single Excel file,
    preserving individual sheet structures.
    """
    folder = Path(folder_path)
    excel_files = list(folder.glob("*.xlsx"))
    
…
42 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Merge Dicts from Two JSON Files Like a Pro

This helper reads two JSON files that contain dicts, merges them with the second file overriding duplicate keys, and saves the result to a new file.

json dict merge
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path


def merge_json_files(file1: str, file2: str, output: str = "merged.json") -> dict:
    """Merge two JSON files containing dicts, with file2 overriding file1."""
    data1 = json.loads(Path(file1).read_text())
    data2 = json.loads(Path(file2).read_text())

    merged = {**data1,…
13 0 Open
Files & data easy

How to Merge Environment-Specific Config JSON in Python

Loads a base JSON config and overlays environment-specific overrides, merging the two dictionaries into one final config.

json config pathlib
Python
import json
import pathlib


def load_config(base_path: pathlib.Path, env: str) -> dict:
    base_config = json.loads(base_path.read_text())
    env_path = base_path.with_name(f"config.{env}.json")
    if env_path.exists():
        env_config = json.loads(env_path.read_text())
        return {**base_config, **env_conf…
14 0 Open
Files & data medium

How to Merge Sorted Chunk Files in Python

Merge multiple sorted text files into one sorted output file using a heap for efficient k-way merging.

heapq merge-sort external-sort
Python
import heapq


def merge_sorted_chunks(chunks, output_path):
    """Merge multiple sorted iterables into single sorted output file."""
    with open(output_path, "w") as out_f:
        # Open all chunk files
        handles = [open(chunk, "r") for chunk in chunks]
        try:
            # Heap of (value, index) tupl…
14 0 Open
Files & data medium

Join two CSV files on shared key column in Python

Merge rows from two CSV files by a common key column, outputting combined records to a new file.

csv join dictreader
Python
import csv

def join_csv(file1, file2, key, output="joined.csv"):
    # Read first CSV into dict keyed by the join column
    with open(file1, newline="") as f1:
        reader1 = csv.DictReader(f1)
        data1 = {row[key]: row for row in reader1}

    # Read second CSV and merge matching rows
    with open(file2, n…
14 0 Open
Files & data easy

Merge Multiple PDF Files into One Document in Python

Combines multiple PDF files into a single PDF document using the PyPDF2 library's PdfMerger class.

pdf pypdf2 file-merging
Python
import PyPDF2

def merge_pdfs(input_paths, output_path):
    merger = PyPDF2.PdfMerger()
    for path in input_paths:
        merger.append(path)
    merger.write(output_path)
    merger.close()
    print(f"Merged {len(input_paths)} PDFs into '{output_path}'.")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    files = ["file1.pdf", "fi…
42 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets medium

How to Deep Merge Nested Dicts Recursively in Python

Recursively merge two Python dictionaries, with overlay values taking precedence while preserving nested structures.

dict-merge recursion nested-dicts
Python
def deep_merge(base, overlay):
    """
    Recursively merge two dictionaries.
    Values in 'overlay' take precedence over 'base'.
    """
    result = base.copy()
    
    for key, value in overlay.items():
        if key in result and isinstance(result[key], dict) and isinstance(value, dict):
            result[key…
14 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets easy

How to Merge Dictionaries and Find Unique Keys in Python

Merge two dictionaries with update(), then use sets to find all unique keys and the keys shared between both dictionaries.

dictionaries sets merge
Python
def merge_and_unique(dict1, dict2):
    merged = dict1.copy()
    merged.update(dict2)
    unique_keys = set(merged.keys())
    common_keys = set(dict1.keys()) & set(dict2.keys())
    return merged, unique_keys, common_keys


if __name__ == "__main__":
    fruits = {"apple": 3, "banana": 5, "orange": 2}
    more_fruit…
14 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets easy

How to Merge Two Dictionaries in Python with the Spread Operator

Merge two Python dictionaries into one new dict using the ** unpacking (spread) operator, with later keys overriding earlier ones.

dicts merge spread-operator
Python
def merge_two_dicts(dict1: dict, dict2: dict) -> dict:
    """Merge two dictionaries using the spread operator pattern."""
    # The ** operator unpacks key-value pairs, later keys overwrite earlier ones
    merged = {**dict1, **dict2}
    return merged


if __name__ == "__main__":
    # Example usage with overlapping…
15 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets easy

How to merge dictionaries and sets in Python

Merges multiple dictionaries with the ** unpacking operator and combines sets using union operations into a single structure.

dict-merge set-union unpacking
Python
def merge_dictionaries_and_sets(school_dict, teacher_dict, course_dict, student_sets):
    """
    Merges multiple dictionaries and sets into a single combined structure.
    Demonstrates dict unpacking and set union operations.
    """
    # Merge all dictionaries using the unpacking operator (Python 3.9+)
    merged…
12 0 Open
OOP & classes easy

How to merge dictionaries by a key in Python with a class

This code defines a DataMerger class that collects dictionary records and merges them by a specified key, combining fields from multiple records with the same key.

classes dictionaries merging
Python
class DataMerger:
    def __init__(self):
        self.records = []

    def add_record(self, record):
        if isinstance(record, dict):
            self.records.append(record)
        else:
            raise TypeError("Record must be a dictionary")

    def merge_by_key(self, key):
        merged = {}
        for …
13 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures easy

Find Median of Two Sorted Arrays in Python

Merges two sorted arrays with a two-pointer walk and returns the median of the combined sorted sequence.

median two-pointer merge
Python
def median_of_two_sorted_arrays(nums1, nums2):
    merged = []
    i = j = 0
    while i < len(nums1) and j < len(nums2):
        if nums1[i] <= nums2[j]:
            merged.append(nums1[i])
            i += 1
        else:
            merged.append(nums2[j])
            j += 1
    merged.extend(nums1[i:])
    merged.…
15 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures medium

How to Find Intersection of Two Sorted Interval Lists in Python

A two-pointer algorithm that finds all overlapping intervals between two sorted lists of intervals.

intervals two-pointers algorithm
Python
def interval_intersection(list1, list2):
    i = j = 0
    result = []
    
    while i < len(list1) and j < len(list2):
        # Find the overlap between current intervals
        lo = max(list1[i][0], list2[j][0])
        hi = min(list1[i][1], list2[j][1])
        
        # If there's an overlap, add it to result
…
13 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures easy

Merge Two Sorted Arrays Without Extra Space in Python

Merge two sorted arrays in-place from the end, using the trailing zeros in the first array to avoid extra space.

merge in-place arrays
Python
def merge_sorted(arr1, arr2):
    m, n = len(arr1), len(arr2)
    i, j = m - 1, n - 1
    while j >= 0:
        if i >= 0 and arr1[i] > arr2[j]:
            arr1[i + j + 1] = arr1[i]
            i -= 1
        else:
            arr1[i + j + 1] = arr2[j]
            j -= 1
    return arr1


if __name__ == "__main__":
 …
15 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures medium

Merge k sorted lists in Python using a heap

Merge k individually sorted lists into one sorted list in Python using a min-heap.

heapq merge sorted-list
Python
import heapq

def merge_k_sorted_lists(lists):
    heap = []
    # Push the first element of each list onto the heap
    for i, lst in enumerate(lists):
        if lst:
            heapq.heappush(heap, (lst[0], i, 0))
    
    result = []
    while heap:
        val, list_idx, elem_idx = heapq.heappop(heap)
        re…
15 0 Open
Algorithms & data structures easy

Stable merge two lists by custom comparator in Python

Merge two lists into one sorted output using a custom comparator while maintaining the original order of equal elements.

merge stable-sort custom-comparator
Python
from functools import cmp_to_key

def compare(x, y):
    # Custom comparator: sorts by length first, then by original index for stability
    if len(x) != len(y):
        return len(x) - len(y)
    return 0  # Equal keys preserve original order (stable)

def merge_stable(left, right, cmp_func):
    result = []
    i =…
13 0 Open
Comprehensions & generators easy

How to Merge Multiple Iterables with a Generator in Python

This code defines a generator function that 'chains' or merges multiple iterables into a single iterator, which is then converted to a list.

generators yield-from iterables
Python
def chain(*iterables):
    for iterable in iterables:
        yield from iterable

def main():
    list1 = [1, 2, 3]
    tuple1 = (4, 5)
    set1 = {6, 7}
    string1 = "89"

    result = list(chain(list1, tuple1, set1, string1))
    print(result)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()
12 0 Open

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Guide: free Python code samples library

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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.