Reference library

Python Code Samples

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

33 matches
Files & data easy

How to Copy a File with shutil.copy2 in Python

Copy a file while preserving metadata like timestamps and permissions using Python's shutil.copy2 and pathlib.

shutil file-copy pathlib
Python
import shutil
from pathlib import Path

source = Path("sample.txt")
destination = Path("sample_copy.txt")

source.write_text("Hello, PythonSkillset!")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    shutil.copy2(source, destination)
    copied = destination.read_text()
    print(f"Copied content: {copied}")
    print(f"Source exists:…
11 0 Open
Dictionaries & sets medium

How to Build a TTL Cache Dict in Python

Create a dictionary subclass that automatically expires keys after a fixed time-to-live using timestamps.

dictionary cache ttl
Python
import time

class TTLDict(dict):
    def __init__(self, ttl, *args, **kwargs):
        self.ttl = ttl
        self._expires = {}
        super().__init__(*args, **kwargs)

    def __setitem__(self, key, value):
        super().__setitem__(key, value)
        self._expires[key] = time.time() + self.ttl

    def __geti…
16 0 Open
AI & LLM integration patterns easy

How to Log Prompts and Completions as JSONL Audit Files in Python

Read a JSONL file of LLM prompt–completion pairs, compute totals and averages, then write an audit summary with timestamps.

jsonl audit llm
Python
import json
from pathlib import Path
from datetime import datetime


def audit_jsonl(filepath):
    logs = []
    with open(filepath, encoding="utf-8") as f:
        for line in f:
            line = line.strip()
            if not line:
                continue
            entry = json.loads(line)
            logs.ap…
15 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Build a Network Ping Monitor in Python

A Python script that continuously pings a remote host using subprocess and reports connectivity status with timestamps and latency.

ping network monitoring
Python
import subprocess
import time

def ping_host(host, count=4):
    """Ping a host and return the results."""
    try:
        # Platform-independent ping command
        cmd = ["ping", "-c", str(count), host]
        result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=10)
        return result.stdout, r…
94 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

Generate Random Fake User Data for Testing in Python

This code generates a list of fake user dictionaries with random names, emails, ages, and timestamps using the Python standard library for testing purposes.

testing random data-generation
Python
import json
import random
import string
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

def generate_user_data(num_users=1):
    first_names = ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie", "Diana", "Eve"]
    last_names = ["Smith", "Johnson", "Brown", "Taylor", "Wilson"]
    domains = ["example.com", "test.org", "demo.net"]
    
    users = …
39 0 Open
Automation & scripting easy

Monitor Website Uptime with Python

Periodically check if a website is reachable and its HTTP status is 200, logging the status with timestamps.

monitoring uptime requests
Python
import requests
import time

def check_website(url):
    try:
        response = requests.get(url, timeout=5)
        if response.status_code == 200:
            return True
        else:
            return False
    except requests.ConnectionError:
        return False
    except requests.Timeout:
        return Fals…
39 0 Open
Automation & scripting medium

Track Internet Connectivity and Downtime Automatically in Python

Monitors internet connectivity by pinging a remote host and logs any downtime events with timestamps and duration.

internet connectivity monitoring
Python
import time
import subprocess
from datetime import datetime

def check_internet(host="8.8.8.8", timeout=3):
    """Returns True if internet is reachable via ping."""
    try:
        subprocess.run(
            ["ping", "-c", "1", "-W", str(timeout), host],
            capture_output=True,
            timeout=timeout …
39 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 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,
…
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 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
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"),
        ("…
15 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):
        …
12 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

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
Streaming & messaging easy

Build a Streaming Messaging Helper in Python

Create a simple message stream class that stores recent messages, sends user messages, and retrieves history or latest messages with timestamps.

streaming deque dataclass
Python
from collections import deque
from dataclasses import dataclass
from datetime import datetime
import time


@dataclass
class Message:
    user: str
    text: str
    timestamp: str = ""

    def __post_init__(self):
        if not self.timestamp:
            self.timestamp = datetime.now().strftime("%H:%M:%S")


class…
13 0 Open
Streaming & messaging easy

How to Build a Mock Change Data Capture Event Stream in Python

Generate a deterministic list of mock CDC events with event IDs, stream positions, payloads, and timestamps for testing streaming pipelines.

cdc mock event-stream
Python
from itertools import count
from random import choice, randint, seed
from datetime import datetime, timedelta

seed(42)  # Make output deterministic
event_types = ["INSERT", "UPDATE", "DELETE"]
table_names = ["users", "orders", "products", "payments"]
counter = count(1)

def mock_cdc_event(stream_index: int) -> dict:
…
12 0 Open
Streaming & messaging medium

How to Stream Join Windowed Mock Topics in Python

Simulates two message topics and joins their events when timestamps fall within a sliding time window using Python generators and deques.

streaming join generator
Python
import itertools
import random
import time
from collections import deque
from dataclasses import dataclass, field

@dataclass
class Event:
    key: str
    value: int
    timestamp: float = field(default_factory=time.time)

def generate_topic(prefix, keys, start_time):
    while True:
        yield Event(
            …
14 0 Open
Streaming & messaging medium

Mock Watermark Late Event Side Output in Python

Simulates watermarking in a streaming pipeline by classifying events as on-time or late using timestamps and delays.

watermark streaming side output
Python
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from typing import List, Tuple


def watermark_mock(
    events: List[Tuple[datetime, str]], watermark_delay: timedelta, max_delay: timedelta
) -> Tuple[List[Tuple[datetime, str]], List[Tuple[datetime, str]]]:
    """Simulate watermarking: events arriving on time vs. late by ch…
11 0 Open
Caching & Redis medium

Redis-inspired sliding window rate limiter in Python

A pure-Python sliding window rate limiter using a deque of timestamps, mock-ready for Redis-backed production limits.

redis rate-limit sliding-window
Python
import time
from collections import deque


class SlidingWindowRateLimiter:
    def __init__(self, max_requests: int, window_seconds: int) -> None:
        self.max_requests = max_requests
        self.window_seconds = window_seconds
        self.requests: dict[str, deque] = {}

    def is_allowed(self, client_id: str…
14 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

How to Implement a Rate Limiter in Python

A beginner-friendly Python class that tracks call timestamps with a deque to allow or block calls based on a max rate per time period.

rate-limit deque time
Python
import time
from collections import deque


class RateLimiter:
    """Simple rate limiter for beginners."""

    def __init__(self, max_calls: int, period_seconds: float):
        self.max_calls = max_calls
        self.period = period_seconds
        self.calls = deque()

    def allow(self) -> bool:
        """Retur…
16 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

How to Implement a Sliding Window Log Rate Limiter in Python

Implements a sliding window log rate limiter in Python using a deque of timestamps to enforce a maximum request count within a rolling time window.

rate-limiting sliding-window deque
Python
from collections import deque
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from time import sleep


class SlidingWindowLog:
    def __init__(self, window_seconds: int, max_requests: int):
        self.window_seconds = window_seconds
        self.max_requests = max_requests
        self.timestamps = deque()

    def allow_…
15 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting easy

How to implement rate limiting in Python

Build a simple sliding-window rate limiter in Python that enforces a max number of calls per time period and formats data with timestamps.

rate-limiting time sliding-window
Python
import time

class RateLimiter:
    def __init__(self, max_calls, period):
        self.max_calls = max_calls
        self.period = period
        self.calls = []
    
    def allow(self):
        now = time.time()
        # Remove calls older than the period window
        self.calls = [t for t in self.calls if now -…
17 0 Open
Reliability & rate limiting medium

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.

rate-limiting api time-window
Python
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):
       …
13 0 Open

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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.