Caching & Redis
Cache-aside, TTL, invalidation, hot keys, and in-memory lookup patterns at scale.
How to Mock Redis Pub/Sub in Python
Test Redis pub/sub logic without a live server using an in-memory fake that queues published messages per channel.
import redis
import time
import threading
class MockRedisPubSub:
def __init__(self):
self.channels = {}
def publish(self, channel, message):
if channel not in self.channels:
return 0
for subscriber in self.channels[channel]:
subscriber.put(message)
ret…
How to Mock Redis Streams Consumer Groups in Python
Simulate Redis Streams producer and consumer group behavior in Python using a standalone mock class for testing and development.
import time
import json
from collections import defaultdict
class RedisStreamMock:
def __init__(self):
self.streams = defaultdict(list)
self.consumer_groups = defaultdict(dict)
self.pending_entries = defaultdict(list)
def xadd(self, stream, fields):
entry_id = f"{time.time_ns(…
How to Mock a Cache Key Schema Version Bump in Python
Show how to test a cache key schema bump by mocking the class-level version attribute with unittest.mock.
from unittest import mock
class VersionCache:
SCHEMA_VERSION = 1
def __init__(self, key_prefix="cache"):
self.key_prefix = key_prefix
def build_key(self, resource_id):
return f"{self.key_prefix}:schema-v{self.SCHEMA_VERSION}:{resource_id}"
def bump_schema(self):
# Simulated …
How to Mock a Redis Session Store Cookie SID in Python
Mock a Redis-backed session store with a cookie-based session ID (SID) in Python, including the create, read, and delete operations.
import redis
import uuid
import time
class RedisSessionStore:
def __init__(self, host="localhost", port=6379, db=0, prefix="session:"):
self.client = redis.Redis(host=host, port=port, db=db)
self.prefix = prefix
def create_session(self, timeout_seconds=3600):
session_id = uuid.uuid4(…
How to Mock a Redis Transaction with MULTI/EXEC in Python
A minimal in-memory mock of Redis MULTI/EXEC transactions that queues commands and applies them atomically on EXEC.
class RedisTransactionMock:
def __init__(self):
self.data = {}
self.queue = []
self.in_transaction = False
def multi(self):
self.in_transaction = True
self.queue = []
return "OK"
def set(self, key, value):
if self.in_transaction:
self.qu…
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 Use Redis HSET and HGET in Python
This code demonstrates how to store and retrieve hash data in Redis using Python's redis library with HSET, HGET, HGETALL, and HDEL commands.
import redis
# Connect to Redis (adjust host/port as needed)
r = redis.Redis(host='localhost', port=6379, db=0, decode_responses=True)
# Clear any existing data for demonstration
r.delete('user:1')
# HSET - Store a hash
r.hset('user:1', mapping={'name': 'Alice', 'age': 30, 'city': 'New York'})
# HGET - Retrieve a …
How to Use Redis ZADD and ZRANGE in Python
Add members to a Redis sorted set with ZADD and retrieve them in score order with ZRANGE in Python.
import redis
client = redis.Redis(host='localhost', port=6379, db=0)
client.delete('scores')
members = {'alice': 30, 'bob': 20, 'carol': 50}
for name, score in members.items():
client.zadd('scores', {name: score})
result = client.zrange('scores', 0, -1)
print(result)
How to Use Redis as a Cache in Python
A beginner-friendly RedisCache helper that stores, retrieves, and deletes JSON values with automatic TTL expiration using the redis-py client.
import json
import time
import redis
class RedisCache:
def __init__(self, host="localhost", port=6379, db=0, default_ttl=60):
self.client = redis.Redis(host=host, port=port, db=db, decode_responses=True)
self.default_ttl = default_ttl
def set(self, key, value, ttl=None):
"""Store a v…
How to Use lru_cache in Python for Cache-on-Miss Population
Demonstrates lru_cache to automatically populate cache on a miss and serve subsequent calls from cache, with cache info stats.
from functools import lru_cache
@lru_cache(maxsize=None)
def fetch_user(user_id):
"""Simulates a slow database fetch."""
print(f"Cache miss: fetching user {user_id} from database")
return {"id": user_id, "name": f"User {user_id}"}
if __name__ == "__main__":
user = fetch_user(1)
print(f"First call…
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 cache filtered data in Redis with Python
This code caches filtered list results in Redis using an MD5 hash key, returning cached results when available.
import redis
import json
import hashlib
import time
cache = redis.Redis(host='localhost', port=6379, db=0, decode_responses=True)
def filter_data(data, predicate_key, predicate_value):
"""Filter a list of dicts by key-value pair, with Redis caching."""
cache_key = hashlib.md5(
f"{predicate_key}:{pred…
How to create a stable cache key from function arguments in Python
Generate a stable SHA-256 cache key from normalized function arguments, with keyword order normalized and tests using mocks.
import hashlib
import json
from unittest.mock import Mock
def make_cache_key(*args, **kwargs):
"""Normalize args/kwargs into a stable hash key for caching."""
normalized = {
"args": [repr(arg) for arg in args],
"kwargs": {key: repr(value) for key, value in sorted(kwargs.items())}
}
pa…
How to implement Redlock distributed lock in Python
Simulate Redis Redlock multi-instance locking to show how a distributed lock is acquired only when a majority of instances agree.
import time
import random
import threading
from dataclasses import dataclass
@dataclass
class MockRedisLock:
"""Simple mock of a Redis lock instance."""
name: str
key: str
ttl: int
acquired: bool = False
expires_at: float = 0.0
def acquire(self, sleep_fn=time.sleep):
"""Try to ac…
How to implement a token bucket rate limiter in Python
A thread-safe in-memory token bucket rate limiter that tracks per-key tokens with refill logic, including a usage example after a timed refill.
import time
import threading
class TokenBucketRateLimiter:
def __init__(self, capacity, refill_rate):
self.capacity = capacity
self.refill_rate = refill_rate
self.tokens = capacity
self.last_refill_time = time.time()
self.lock = threading.Lock()
def allow_request(self,…
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…
How to memoize a function in Python with lru_cache
Use functools.lru_cache to memoize a recursive Fibonacci function, caching results for a fixed number of calls to avoid repeated computation.
from functools import lru_cache
@lru_cache(maxsize=128)
def fibonacci(n):
if n < 2:
return n
return fibonacci(n - 1) + fibonacci(n - 2)
if __name__ == "__main__":
for i in range(10):
print(f"fib({i}) = {fibonacci(i)}")
print(f"Cache info: {fibonacci.cache_info()}")
How to mock Redis geospatial commands (GEOADD) in Python
Implement a lightweight Python mock of Redis geospatial commands (GEOADD, GEODIST, GEOSEARCH) using the Haversine formula for testing without a Redis server.
import math
import heapq
class MockRedisGeo:
def __init__(self):
self.members = {}
def geoadd(self, key, longitude, latitude, member):
if key not in self.members:
self.members[key] = {}
self.members[key][member] = (longitude, latitude)
def geodist(self, key, member1,…
How to use Redis MGET MSET pipeline in Python
Store multiple keys atomically and read them efficiently with Redis MSET/MGET, then batch commands with a pipeline to cut round trips.
import redis # v4.x+ required
r = redis.Redis(host="localhost", port=6379, db=0, decode_responses=True)
# Sample data to store
r.flushdb()
data = {"name": "Alice", "age": "30", "city": "Berlin"}
# MSET: store multiple key-value pairs in one command
r.mset(data)
# MGET: fetch multiple keys in one round trip
keys =…
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_…
Mock Redis Distributed Lock in Python with SET NX EX
A minimal in-memory mock of Redis SET NX EX distributed lock semantics for testing concurrent code without a real Redis server.
import time
import threading
import uuid
from typing import Optional
class RedisLockMock:
"""A minimal mock of Redis SET NX EX distributed lock semantics."""
def __init__(self):
self._store = {} # key -> (value, expiry_epoch)
def acquire(self, key: str, token: str, ttl_seconds: int) -> bool:
…
Mock Redis Lua Script Atomic Execution in Python
A MockRedis class that simulates atomic Lua script execution via EVALSHA with a simplified parser for basic commands.
import hashlib
class MockRedis:
def __init__(self):
self.data = {}
self.scripts = {}
def script_load(self, script):
sha = hashlib.sha1(script.encode()).hexdigest()
self.scripts[sha] = script
return sha
def evalsha(self, sha, keys, args):
if sha not in self…
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