Big data & Spark
PySpark jobs, partitioning, batch processing, and large-dataset transform patterns.
How to Mock and Test a Rate-Limited Source Stream in Python
Build a class that rate-limits emitted items using a sliding window and test it with a simulated stream in Python.
import time
from collections import deque
class RateLimitedSource:
def __init__(self, max_rate, window=1.0):
self.max_rate = max_rate
self.window = window
self._timestamps = deque()
def emit(self, item):
now = time.monotonic()
while self._timestamps and self._timestam…
How to Pivot and Group Aggregate in Python
Group records by a key, collect values, and apply an aggregate function (like sum) to build a pivot-style summary dictionary.
from collections import defaultdict
def pivot_group_aggregate(records, group_key, value_key, agg_func):
groups = defaultdict(list)
for record in records:
groups[record[group_key]].append(record[value_key])
return {key: agg_func(values) for key, values in groups.items()}
if __name__ == "__main__":…
How to Shuffle Items by Group in Python
Randomly shuffle items within each group while keeping groups contiguous, using a seed for reproducible results.
import random
def shuffle_sort_groups(items, group_key, seed=None):
"""Randomize order within groups, keeping groups contiguous."""
rng = random.Random(seed)
groups = {}
for item in items:
key = group_key(item)
groups.setdefault(key, []).append(item)
result = []
for k…
How to Simulate a MapReduce Mock with Combine Phase in Python
Simulates a MapReduce pipeline with a combiner that aggregates local counts per reducer to reduce network and compute overhead.
from collections import defaultdict
def map_phase(lines):
intermediate = defaultdict(list)
for line in lines:
for word in line.strip().lower().split():
intermediate[word].append(1)
return dict(intermediate)
def combine_phase(intermediate, num_reducers=3):
combined = defaultdict(li…
How to Truncate Lineage Back to a Checkpoint in Python
Walks a linked list of lineage nodes upward to find the nearest checkpoint and returns that node, truncating the lineage.
class LineageNode:
def __init__(self, name, parent=None, checkpoint=None):
self.name = name
self.parent = parent
self.checkpoint = checkpoint
def truncate_at_checkpoint(self):
"""Truncate lineage back to the last checkpoint."""
current = self
while current.check…
How to Use Broadcast Variables as Read-Only in PySpark (Mock Example)
Share a lookup dict across Spark executors with a broadcast variable and verify its read-only behavior in a local mock.
from pyspark import SparkContext, SparkConf
def main():
conf = SparkConf().setAppName("BroadcastMock").setMaster("local[2]")
sc = SparkContext(conf=conf)
lookup = {"a": 1, "b": 2, "c": 3}
broadcast_lookup = sc.broadcast(lookup)
data = ["a", "b", "c", "a", "unknown"]
rdd = sc.parallel…
How to implement a tumbling window aggregation in Python
Build a mock tumbling window aggregator in Python that groups streaming events into fixed time intervals and computes count, sum, and average per window.
import time
from collections import deque
class TumblingWindow:
def __init__(self, duration_seconds):
self.duration = duration_seconds
self.buffer = deque()
self.window_start = None
def add(self, item):
current_time = time.time()
if self.window_start is None:
…
How to select specific columns in Python with SQLite
A reusable function that connects to a SQLite database and returns only the requested columns from a given table.
import sqlite3
def select_pruned_columns(db_path, table, columns):
with sqlite3.connect(db_path) as conn:
cursor = conn.cursor()
col_list = ", ".join(columns)
query = f"SELECT {col_list} FROM {table}"
return cursor.execute(query).fetchall()
if __name__ == "__main__":
conn = sq…
How to use foreachBatch with a mock sink in PySpark
Demonstrates using Spark Structured Streaming's foreachBatch sink to capture and verify streaming batches by writing them into a custom mock sink object.
from pyspark.sql import SparkSession
from pyspark.sql.functions import col, lit
class MockSink:
def __init__(self):
self.batches = []
def write_batch(self, batch_df, batch_id):
# Collect batch data as list of dicts for verification
records = batch_df.collect()
self.batches…
Mock Predicate Pushdown in Python for Big Data Queries
Simulate predicate pushdown by applying filters at the storage layer before materializing rows, showing how big data engines optimize queries.
class Query:
def __init__(self, table, rows):
self.table = table
self.rows = rows
def filter(self, predicate):
return Query(
self.table,
[row for row in self.rows if all(predicate(row) for predicate in predicate)]
)
def filter_pushdown(self, predica…
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