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Automatically Detect Weak Passwords from Large Password Lists in Python
This Python script identifies weak passwords from a list by checking length, common patterns, sequential characters, and uniform characters, returning those that fail the security checks.
import re
COMMON_PASSWORDS_FILE = "common_passwords.txt"
def is_weak(password):
# Check length
if len(password) < 8:
return True
# Check for common patterns
if password.lower() in {"password", "123456", "qwerty", "letmein", "admin", "welcome"}:
return True
# Check for sequential c…
Count Characters, Words, and Lines in Python Text
Counts characters, words, lines, and the most common words in a given string using Python's standard library.
from collections import Counter
def count_data(text):
"""Count characters, words, lines, and most common words in text."""
char_count = len(text)
word_count = len(text.split())
line_count = text.count("\n") + 1
word_freq = Counter(text.lower().split())
most_common = word_freq.most_common(3)
…
Find Most Frequent Character in a String in Python
Count character frequencies in a Python string using a dictionary and return the character that appears most often with a max() key function.
def most_frequent_char(s: str) -> str:
if not s:
return ""
char_count = {}
for ch in s:
char_count[ch] = char_count.get(ch, 0) + 1
max_char = max(char_count, key=char_count.get)
return max_char
if __name__ == "__main__":
text = "programming"
result = most_frequent…
How to Pad a String with Zeros in Python
Pad a string to a fixed width by left-filling it with zeros using the built-in str.zfill method.
def pad_zeros(s, width):
return s.zfill(width)
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(repr(pad_zeros("42", 6)))
print(repr(pad_zeros("-7", 5)))
print(repr(pad_zeros("hello", 10)))
print(repr(pad_zeros("123", 3)))
Repeat a string n times with a separator in Python
Repeats a string a given number of times, joining the repetitions with an optional separator, with a guard for non-positive counts.
def repeat_string_with_separator(s, n, sep=''):
"""
Repeats a string n times, joining with a separator.
Args:
s (str): The string to repeat.
n (int): Number of repetitions.
sep (str): Separator between repetitions (default: '').
Returns:
str: The repeated strin…
Reverse Words in a Sentence While Keeping Punctuation in Python
Reverses the order of words in a sentence while leaving punctuation and spaces in their original positions using Python's re module.
def reverse_words_preserving_punctuation(sentence: str) -> str:
import re
# Split into words and punctuation tokens
tokens = re.findall(r'\w+|[^\w\s]|\s+', sentence)
words = [t for t in tokens if re.fullmatch(r'\w+', t)]
words.reverse()
result_parts = []
word_index = 0
for token in toke…
Find Most Active Contributors in a Repository with Python
Filter recent commits by date and count the most active contributors using Counter and datetime.
from collections import Counter
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
# Simulated commit data
commits = [
{"author": "Alice", "timestamp": datetime.now() - timedelta(days=1)},
{"author": "Bob", "timestamp": datetime.now() - timedelta(days=2)},
{"author": "Alice", "timestamp": datetime.now() - timedelta…
How to Find the Mode in a Python List
Find the most frequent value (mode) in a Python list using the collections.Counter class, handling empty lists and ties.
from collections import Counter
def find_mode(numbers):
if not numbers:
return None
counts = Counter(numbers)
max_count = max(counts.values())
modes = [num for num, count in counts.items() if count == max_count]
return modes[0] if len(modes) == 1 else modes
if __name__ == "__main__":
…
How to Parse Bullet Points in Python
Extract bullet point items from raw text by splitting lines and filtering those that start with '- ' or '* '.
def parse_bullet_points(text):
"""Extract bullet point items from raw text."""
lines = text.splitlines()
items = []
for line in lines:
stripped = line.strip()
if stripped.startswith("- ") or stripped.startswith("* "):
item = stripped[2:]
if item:
…
How to Rotate a List in Python
Rotate a list to the right by k positions using Python's list slicing and modulo arithmetic.
def rotate_list_right(lst, k):
if not lst:
return lst
k = k % len(lst)
return lst[-k:] + lst[:-k] if k != 0 else lst
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
for k in [0, 1, 3, 8, 20]:
print(f"k={k}: {rotate_list_right(sample, k)}")
How to Transpose a Matrix in Python (List of Lists)
Swap rows and columns of a 2D list using nested loops to produce a transposed matrix.
def transpose(matrix):
# Number of rows and columns in the original matrix
rows = len(matrix)
cols = len(matrix[0]) if rows > 0 else 0
# Create a new matrix with dimensions swapped
result = []
for j in range(cols):
new_row = []
for i in range(rows):
new_row.appe…
Rotate List Left by k Positions in Python
Rotates a list left by k positions using slicing and modulo arithmetic to handle large k safely.
def rotate_left(lst, k):
if not lst:
return []
k = k % len(lst)
return lst[k:] + lst[:k]
if __name__ == "__main__":
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
k = 2
result = rotate_left(my_list, k)
print(f"Original: {my_list}")
print(f"After rotating left by {k}: {result}")
Build a Context Manager in Python with contextlib.contextmanager
Create a reusable context manager that safely opens and closes files using the contextlib contextmanager decorator.
from contextlib import contextmanager
@contextmanager
def managed_file(filename, mode='r'):
"""Context manager that opens and closes a file safely."""
file = open(filename, mode)
yield file
file.close()
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Write a sample file
with managed_file("sample.txt", "w") as f…
Calculate Time Difference Across Time Zones in Python
Compute the current time difference in hours between two time zones given their UTC offsets using Python's datetime and timezone modules.
from datetime import datetime, timezone, timedelta
def time_difference(from_tz_offset, to_tz_offset):
"""
Calculate time difference in hours between two time zones given their offsets from UTC.
Offsets are in hours (e.g., -5 for EST, +5.5 for IST).
"""
tz1 = timezone(timedelta(hours=from_tz_offset…
How to Build Partial Functions with functools.partial in Python
Create reusable partial functions that pre-fill arguments using functools.partial, like making square and cube functions from a general power function.
```python
from functools import partial
def power(base, exponent):
"""Calculate base raised to the exponent power."""
return base ** exponent
# Create partial functions for common powers
square = partial(power, exponent=2)
cube = partial(power, exponent=3)
if __name__ == "__main__":
squares = [square(x)…
How to Compose Two Functions into a Single Callable in Python
Combine two Python functions into a single callable using a compose helper, then apply the chained call.
def add_one(x):
return x + 1
def double(x):
return x * 2
def compose(f, g):
return lambda x: f(g(x))
add_then_double = compose(double, add_one)
double_then_add = compose(add_one, double)
result1 = add_then_double(5)
result2 = double_then_add(5)
print(f"add_one then double(5) = {result1}")
print(f"doub…
How to Create a Counter Closure in Python
Build a closure in Python that remembers and increments a counter across calls without using global variables.
def create_counter(start=0):
count = start
def increment():
nonlocal count
count += 1
return count
return increment
if __name__ == "__main__":
counter = create_counter(10)
print(counter())
print(counter())
print(counter())
How to Create a Higher-Order Function in Python (Apply Twice)
This code defines a higher-order function that takes another function and a value, then applies the function twice to the value and returns the result.
def apply_twice(func, value):
return func(func(value))
def add_ten(x):
return x + 10
def square(x):
return x ** 2
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(apply_twice(add_ten, 5))
print(apply_twice(square, 3))
How to Parse Command Line Arguments in Python with argparse
Build a CLI that accepts positional integers, an optional --sum flag, and a --verbose switch, all with Python's standard argparse library.
import argparse
def main():
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Process some integers.')
parser.add_argument('numbers', metavar='N', type=int, nargs='+',
help='an integer for the accumulator')
parser.add_argument('--sum', dest='accumulate', action='store_const',
…
How to Parse Function Signatures in Python with inspect
Extract a function's parameter names, kinds, defaults, annotations, and return type using Python's built-in inspect module.
import inspect
def example_function(a: int, b: str = "default", *args, c: float = 1.5, **kwargs) -> bool:
"""An example function with various parameter types."""
return True
def parse_signature(func):
"""Parse a function's signature using the inspect module."""
sig = inspect.signature(func)
param…
How to Read Environment Variables in Python with Default Values
Retrieve an environment variable safely using os.getenv() with a fallback default when the variable is missing.
import os
database_url = os.getenv("DATABASE_URL", "postgresql://localhost:5432/mydb")
print(f"Database URL: {database_url}")
How to Use *args and **kwargs in Python Functions
Implement a variadic function that accepts arbitrary positional and keyword arguments using *args and **kwargs.
def display_info(title, *args, **kwargs):
"""Display positional and keyword arguments received."""
print(f"Title: {title}")
print(f"Additional positional args ({len(args)}):")
for i, arg in enumerate(args, 1):
print(f" {i}. {arg}")
print(f"Keyword args ({len(kwargs)}):")
for key, value…
How to Use Default Parameters in Python Functions
Define a Python function with default parameters and call it using positional and keyword arguments.
def greet(name, greeting="Hello", punctuation="!"):
"""Concatenate a greeting message with default parameters."""
return f"{greeting}, {name}{punctuation}"
if __name__ == "__main__":
print(greet("Alice")) # Uses both defaults
print(greet("Bob", "Hi")) # Uses default punctua…
How to Use Keyword-Only Arguments in Python Functions
Define Python functions with keyword-only arguments using the * separator to enforce clarity and prevent positional misuse.
def greet(name, *, greeting="Hello", punctuation="!"):
"""Greet someone with a customizable message using keyword-only arguments."""
message = f"{greeting}, {name}{punctuation}"
return message
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Basic call with only the positional argument
print(greet("Alice"))
# Al…
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