Caching & Redis
Cache-aside, TTL, invalidation, hot keys, and in-memory lookup patterns at scale.
Cache Penetration Null Object Mock in Python
Implement a cache that stores a null marker on misses to prevent repeated database hits, reducing cache penetration.
import time
from collections import defaultdict
from typing import Any, Optional
class Cache:
def __init__(self):
self.store: dict[str, Any] = {}
self.ttl: dict[str, float] = {}
self.null_marker = object()
def get(self, key: str, ttl: int = 60, fallback:
Any = None) -> An…
Cache Stampede Prevention with SingleFlight in Python
Implements a SingleFlight pattern in Python to deduplicate concurrent cache-miss computations and prevent cache stampede.
import threading
import time
from functools import wraps
class SingleFlight:
def __init__(self):
self._lock = threading.Lock()
self._inflight = None
def do(self, key, fn):
with self._lock:
if self._inflight is not None:
return self._inflight[1]
…
Consistent Hashing Cache Shard in Python
A minimal consistent hashing ring with virtual nodes that distributes cache keys across shards and minimizes re-mapping when a node is removed.
import hashlib
import bisect
class ConsistentHashRing:
def __init__(self, nodes=None, replicas=3):
self.replicas = replicas
self.ring = {}
self.sorted_keys = []
if nodes:
for node in nodes:
self.add_node(node)
def _hash(self, key):
return i…
How to Add TTL Jitter to Cache Expiration in Python
A Python decorator that adds random jitter to cache TTLs, staggering expiration times to prevent cache avalanche.
import random
import time
from functools import wraps
def add_jitter(ttl: float, jitter_range: float = 0.1) -> float:
"""Add random jitter (as % of TTL) to stagger cache expiration and prevent avalanche."""
jitter = random.uniform(-jitter_range, jitter_range)
return ttl * (1 + jitter)
def cache_with_jitt…
How to Build a Bloom Filter to Reduce Cache Misses in Python
Implement a probabilistic Bloom filter in Python that lets a cache quickly determine which keys are definitely not present, reducing expensive source lookups on cache misses.
import hashlib
import random
class BloomFilter:
def __init__(self, size=100, num_hashes=3):
self.size = size
self.num_hashes = num_hashes
self.bit_array = [0] * size
def _hashes(self, item):
result = []
for i in range(self.num_hashes):
hash_value = int(hash…
How to Cache Data in Redis with Python
Build a simple Redis cache wrapper that stores and retrieves JSON data with automatic TTL and serialization.
import redis
import json
import time
class Cache:
def __init__(self, host="localhost", port=6379, db=0, default_ttl=60):
self.client = redis.Redis(host=host, port=port, db=db)
self.default_ttl = default_ttl
def get(self, key):
value = self.client.get(key)
if value is None:
…
How to Cache Function Results in Redis with Python
A Python decorator that caches function results in Redis using TTL, with optional fakeredis for testing without a server.
import redis
import json
import time
try:
import fakeredis
except ImportError:
fakeredis = None
from functools import wraps
def cache_redis(cache_key_prefix="cache", ttl=60):
"""Decorator to cache function results in Redis."""
if fakeredis:
r = fakeredis.FakeStrictRedis()
else:
r…
How to Implement Probabilistic Early Expiration in Python
A Python mock of probabilistic early expiration for caches, using a heap-based expiry queue and random eviction to approximate cache stampede protection.
import heapq
import random
import time
class ProbabilisticEarlyExpirationMock:
def __init__(self, capacity=1024, expiration_probability=0.1):
self.capacity = capacity
self.expiration_probability = expiration_probability
self._items = {}
self._expiry_heap = []
self._next_id…
How to Implement a Negative Cache with TTL in Python
This code provides a TTL mock cache that stores negative results (cache misses) for a short time to reduce repeated lookups of missing keys.
from time import time, sleep
class TTLMockCache:
def __init__(self, ttl_seconds=5):
self.ttl = ttl_seconds
self.store = {}
self.negative_cache = {}
def get(self, key):
now = time()
if key in self.store:
value, expires_at = self.store[key]
if exp…
How to Implement a Redis-Like Cache Dictionary in Python
Build a RedisMockDict class that mimics basic Redis key-value operations with TTL support, expiry cleanup, and standard dict-like methods.
from collections import OrderedDict
import time
class RedisMockDict:
def __init__(self, ttl=None):
self._data = OrderedDict()
self._ttl = ttl # default TTL in seconds, None = no expiry
self._expiry = {}
def set(self, key, value, ttl=None):
"""Set a key-value pair with optiona…
How to Implement a Write-Through Cache in Python with a Mock Database
A thread-safe write-through cache that updates both cache and mock database atomically, computing values only after a successful write to the database.
import threading
import time
import random
class WriteThroughCache:
def __init__(self):
self.cache = {}
self.db = {}
self.lock = threading.Lock()
def write(self, key, value):
with self.lock:
# Simulate slow database write
time.sleep(random.uniform(0.01…
How to Implement an LFU Cache in Python
Implement a Least Frequently Used (LFU) cache with frequency tracking dictionaries to evict the least accessed items when capacity is reached.
class LFUCache:
def __init__(self, capacity: int):
self.capacity = capacity
self.data = {}
self.freq = {}
self.min_freq = 0
def get(self, key: int) -> int:
if key not in self.data:
return -1
self._increment_freq(key)
return self.data[key]
…
How to Mock Cache Tag Invalidation in Python
Use unittest.mock.patch with wraps to verify tagged cache entries are invalidated correctly.
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch
def get_cached_data(cache, key):
"""Return data from cache if present and valid, else None."""
if cache.get(key, {}).get("valid", False):
return cache[key]["data"]
return None
def invalidate_tag_mock(cache, tag):
"""Invalidate all cache entries …
How to Mock Redis EXPIRE, TTL, and PERSIST in Python
A lightweight in-memory MockRedis class that simulates Redis key expiration, TTL, and persist behavior for tests and local development.
import time
class MockRedis:
def __init__(self):
self._store = {}
self._expiry = {}
def set(self, key, value):
self._store[key] = value
self._expiry.pop(key, None)
return True
def expire(self, key, ttl_seconds):
if key not in self._store:
retur…
How to Mock zlib Compression for Cache Values in Python
Compress cache values with zlib and mock the compress function in unit tests to simulate cache behavior.
import zlib
from unittest.mock import patch
def compress_value(data: bytes) -> bytes:
"""Compress data using zlib and return the compressed bytes."""
return zlib.compress(data)
def decompress_value(compressed: bytes) -> bytes:
"""Decompress zlib data and return the original bytes."""
return zlib.deco…
How to Serialize Cache Values with JSON and Pickle in Python
Serialize cache values using JSON for simple types or pickle for arbitrary objects, with robust error handling for unsupported types like mocks.
import json
import pickle
from unittest.mock import Mock
def serialize(value, method="json"):
"""Serialize a cache value using JSON or pickle with type checking."""
if method == "json":
try:
return json.dumps(value).encode("utf-8")
except TypeError as e:
raise ValueErro…
How to Validate and Cache Data with Redis in Python
A beginner-friendly helper that validates email, phone, and age data and caches validated entries in Redis for 5 minutes.
import redis
import json
from functools import wraps
class DataValidator:
def __init__(self, host="localhost", port=6379, db=0):
self.cache = redis.Redis(host=host, port=port, db=db)
self.validators = {
"email": lambda v: "@" in v and "." in v.split("@")[-1],
"phone": lambd…
How to implement a write-behind cache with async queue in Python
Build an async write-behind cache that queues writes in memory and flushes them in batches to persistent storage.
import asyncio
from collections import deque
from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass
class CacheEntry:
key: str
value: str
class WriteBehindCache:
def __init__(self, flush_interval=1.0):
self.cache = {}
self.queue = deque()
self.flush_interval = flush_interval
self._f…
Implement a Multi-Level Cache with L1 Memory and L2 Redis in Python
This code implements a simple multi-level cache with an in-process L1 cache (via functools.lru_cache) and a mock Redis L2 cache with TTL, falling back to a slow computation on misses.
import time
from functools import lru_cache
class MockRedis:
def __init__(self):
self.store = {}
def get(self, key):
return self.store.get(key, None)
def set(self, key, value, ttl=5):
self.store[key] = (value, time.time() + ttl)
def get_ttl(self, key):
value, expiry…
Implement a TTL cache with a mock clock in Python
This code creates a simple TTL cache that stores values with an expiration timestamp and allows injecting a mock time function to test expiry behavior deterministically.
import time
from functools import wraps
class TTLCache:
def __init__(self, ttl_seconds):
self.ttl = ttl_seconds
self.cache = {}
self._now = time.time
def set_mock_time(self, mock_time_fn):
"""Inject a mock time function for testing TTL expiry."""
self._now = mock_time_…
Refresh Proactive TTL Renewal in Python
This snippet implements a proactive TTL renewal pattern that refreshes a cache expiration before it lapses, using a mock counter to track renewals.
import time
from datetime import datetime, timezone
class TTLRenewer:
def __init__(self, ttl_seconds=10, renew_at=0.5):
self.ttl = ttl_seconds
self.last_renewed = time.time()
self.renew_threshold = ttl_seconds * renew_at
self.renewals = 0
def check_and_renew(self):
if …
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Caching & Redis — Python code examples
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