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Big data & Spark

PySpark jobs, partitioning, batch processing, and large-dataset transform patterns.

7 matches
Big data & Spark easy

How to Explode an Array Column in Python

This code demonstrates a mock explode operation that converts an array column into multiple rows, similar to Spark's explode function.

explode arrays pyspark
Python
import json 

def explode_array_column(data, column):
    """Mock explode: split array column into multiple rows."""
    exploded = []
    for row in data:
        values = row.get(column, [])
        for value in values:
            new_row = dict(row)
            new_row[column] = value
            exploded.append(n…
13 0 Open
Big data & Spark medium

How to Implement row_number Window Function in Python

This code implements a SQL-style ROW_NUMBER() window function in pure Python, partitioning rows by a set of columns and ranking them within each partition by an ordered set of columns.

window-functions data-processing row-number
Python
from collections import defaultdict
import itertools


def row_number(rows, partition_by, order_by):
    partitions = defaultdict(list)
    for index, row in enumerate(rows):
        key = tuple(row[col] for col in partition_by)
        partitions[key].append((index, row))

    result = []
    for key in partitions:
 …
17 0 Open
Big data & Spark medium

How to Mock a UDAF Aggregate Function in Python

This code provides a minimal mock of a User-Defined Aggregate Function (UDAF), simulating the initialize-update-merge-finalize lifecycle with a defaultdict counter.

udaf aggregate mock
Python
from collections import defaultdict

class MockUDAF:
    """A minimal mock of a User-Defined Aggregate Function.

    Simulates aggregate lifecycle: initialize, update per row,
    and finalize the result.
    """

    def __init__(self):
        self._buffer = defaultdict(int)

    def initialize(self):
        """Re…
13 0 Open
Big data & Spark easy

How to Mock a User-Defined Function (UDF) in Python

Wrap a real UDF implementation with call logging to simulate and track invocations in a data pipeline.

udf mock testing
Python
from typing import Any, Callable


# Mock a user-defined function (UDF) that was previously complex or external
def mock_udf(name: str, implementation: Callable[..., Any], *, calls: list[Any]) -> Callable[..., Any]:
    """Wrap a real implementation with call logging to simulate a UDF."""
    def wrapper(*args: Any, *…
13 0 Open
Big data & Spark easy

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.

pivot group-by aggregation
Python
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__":…
13 0 Open
Big data & Spark easy

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.

sqlite sql database
Python
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…
15 0 Open
Big data & Spark medium

Lazy Evaluation Transform Lineage Mock in Python

Build a mock lineage tracker for data transforms using lazy evaluation and function wrappers in Python.

lazy-evaluation lineage decorator
Python
import functools


def lazy_transform(pipeline):
    """Build a mock lineage tracker using lazy evaluation."""
    lineage = []

    def wrap(func):
        @functools.wraps(func)
        def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
            result = func(*args, **kwargs)
            lineage.append({"transform": func.__name__, "a…
16 0 Open

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Big data & Spark — Python code examples

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