Data pipelines & processing
ETL-style flows, batch transforms, validation, and moving data between formats.
Attach Source File Metadata to Records in Python
Add a source filename field to each record in a list by merging a new key into every dictionary using a dict unpacking comprehension.
from pathlib import Path
import json
def attach_source_metadata(records, source_file):
"""Attach source filename metadata to each record."""
return [
{**record, "source": Path(source_file).name}
for record in records
]
if __name__ == "__main__":
source = "/data/raw/customers.csv"
…Count Records Processed per Category in Python
Use a Counter dictionary to track how many records of each type (ok, error, retry) were processed in a data pipeline.
from collections import Counter
import random
processed_counter = Counter()
def process_records(records):
for record in records:
processed_counter[record] += 1
return len(records)
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample_records = [random.choice(["ok", "error", "retry"]) for _ in range(10)]
print(f…Create Data Helper Functions in Python for Beginners
Build reusable Python helper functions to load, filter, sort, summarize, and save JSON data — a beginner-friendly starting point for small data pipelines.
import json
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any, Dict, List
def load_json_file(filepath: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
"""Load JSON data from a file."""
with Path(filepath).open("r", encoding="utf-8") as file:
return json.load(file)
def filter_by_key(
data: List[Dict[str, Any]], key: str,…Enrich Events with Geo IP Data in Python
Returns a copy of each event dictionary, enriched with a geo-location dict from a mock IP-to-geo lookup table, with a fallback for unknown IPs.
import ipaddress
GEO_IP_DB = {
"192.168.1.10": {"country": "US", "city": "New York", "lat": 40.7128, "lon": -74.0060},
"10.0.0.5": {"country": "DE", "city": "Berlin", "lat": 52.5200, "lon": 13.4050},
"172.16.0.8": {"country": "JP", "city": "Tokyo", "lat": 35.6762, "lon": 139.6503},
}
EVENTS = [
{"id…Filter Records by Required Fields in Python
Filter a list of dictionaries, keeping only records where every required field is present and not None.
def filter_records(records, required_fields):
"""Return only records that have all required fields non-null."""
return [
record for record in records
if all(record.get(field) is not None for field in required_fields)
]
if __name__ == "__main__":
sample_records = [
{"name": "Al…Generate a Deterministic Hash for Deduplication in Python
Create a stable SHA-256 fingerprint from nested data and file contents to deduplicate records in a data pipeline.
import hashlib
import json
from pathlib import Path
def natural_key_hash(data, salt=""):
"""
Generate a deterministic fingerprint from raw data (dict/list/str).
Uses JSON canonical-ish serialization with sorted keys and SHA-256.
"""
canonical = json.dumps(data, sort_keys=True, separators=(",", ":"…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.
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):
…Group Python Events into Sessions with a Gap Timeout
Groups timestamped events into sessions, starting a new session when the time gap exceeds a specified timeout.
from itertools import groupby
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def session_window_group(events, gap_seconds=300):
"""Group events into sessions where gap > gap_seconds starts a new session."""
if not events:
return []
events = sorted(events, key=lambda x: x[0])
sessions = []
c…How to Build Data Processing Functions in Python
Create reusable helper functions to load, filter, transform, and aggregate CSV data in Python.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
def load_data(filepath):
"""Load CSV data into a list of dicts."""
with open(filepath, "r", newline="", encoding="utf-8") as f:
return list(csv.DictReader(f))
def filter_rows(rows, column, value):
"""Keep rows where column equals value."""
return [row for…How to Build a Simple Data Pipeline in Python
A beginner-friendly data pipeline that loads JSON, filters records by a field value, and aggregates counts per category.
import json
from pathlib import Path
def load_json(filepath: str | Path) -> list[dict]:
"""Load a JSON file containing a list of records."""
with Path(filepath).open("r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
return json.load(f)
def filter_records(records: list[dict], field: str, value) -> list[dict]:
"""Kee…How to Clean and Format Data in Python
This code loads JSON data, cleans records by removing empty fields and normalizing text, then summarizes the results with counts and unique keys.
import json
from pathlib import Path
def load_data(filepath: str) -> dict:
"""Load JSON data from a file."""
with Path(filepath).open("r", encoding="utf-8") as f:
return json.load(f)
def clean_records(records: list[dict]) -> list[dict]:
"""Remove empty fields and normalize text to lowercase."""…How to Compress Pipeline Output Gzip Per Partition in Python
Compress each partition of pipeline output into a separate gzip file and verify the compressed data by reading it back.
import gzip
import io
import random
from pathlib import Path
def compress_partition(partition_data: list[str], output_path: Path) -> int:
"""Compress a partition of data to a gzip file, returns bytes written."""
with gzip.open(output_path, 'wt', encoding='utf-8') as f:
f.writelines(partition_data)
…How to Convert Data Types in a Python Data Pipeline
Demonstrates a simple Python data pipeline that converts string values to proper types (bool, int, float, datetime) and outputs structured JSON.
import json
from datetime import datetime
def convert_value(value):
"""Convert string values to appropriate Python types."""
if value.lower() == "true":
return True
if value.lower() == "false":
return False
if value.isdigit():
return int(value)
try:
return float(val…How to Count JSON Records in Python
Read a JSON file and count the number of top-level records, handling both list and dictionary structures.
import json
from pathlib import Path
def count_records(json_file):
"""Count top-level records in a JSON file."""
with open(json_file, "r") as f:
data = json.load(f)
# Handle both list of records and dict of records
if isinstance(data, list):
return len(data)
elif isinstance(da…How to Deduplicate Events with At-Least-Once Delivery in Python
Implements an exactly-once processing pattern for at-least-once event delivery by tracking seen event IDs in a set, skipping duplicates.
seen_ids = set()
def process_event(event_id: str, payload: dict) -> dict:
"""Process an event exactly once, ignoring duplicates."""
if event_id in seen_ids:
return {"status": "duplicate", "event_id": event_id}
seen_ids.add(event_id)
return {"status": "processed", "event_id": event_id, **payloa…How to Explode an Array Field into Multiple Rows in Python
This code flattens a list of dictionaries by exploding each array field value into its own row, duplicating the other fields as needed.
from collections import defaultdict
data = [
{"id": 1, "name": "Alice", "tags": ["python", "data", "ai"]},
{"id": 2, "name": "Bob", "tags": ["web", "devops"]},
{"id": 3, "name": "Carol", "tags": []},
]
def explode_array_field(records, array_field):
result = []
for record in records:
for v…How to Filter Data in Python
Filter a list of dictionaries by exact key-value matches or numerical ranges using concise list comprehensions.
from typing import List, Dict, Any
def filter_data(
data: List[Dict[str, Any]], key: str, value: Any
) -> List[Dict[str, Any]]:
"""Return records where data[key] equals value."""
return [record for record in data if record.get(key) == value]
def filter_by_range(
data: List[Dict[str, Any]], key: str…How to Group Data by Key in Python
Group a list of dictionaries by a specified key using a defaultdict and compute per-group averages.
from collections import defaultdict
def group_by_key(data, key):
grouped = defaultdict(list)
for item in data:
grouped[item[key]].append(item)
return dict(grouped)
if __name__ == "__main__":
records = [
{"name": "Alice", "dept": "Engineering", "score": 85},
{"name": "Bob", "de…How to Group Rows by Key into Nested Arrays in Python
This code groups rows in a list of dictionaries by a specified key and returns a dictionary with each key mapped to a list of values from another key.
from collections import defaultdict
def implode_rows(rows, key, value_key):
grouped = defaultdict(list)
for row in rows:
grouped[row[key]].append(row[value_key])
return dict(grouped)
if __name__ == "__main__":
data = [
{"category": "fruit", "item": "apple"},
{"category": "fr…How to Hash Email Addresses in a PII Masking Pipeline in Python
Replaces every email address in a text string with its SHA-256 hash to protect personally identifiable information (PII).
import hashlib
import re
def hash_email(email: str) -> str:
"""Mask an email address by hashing it with SHA-256."""
normalized = email.strip().lower()
return hashlib.sha256(normalized.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()
def mask_pii_emails(text: str) -> str:
"""Replace all email addresses in text with their…How to Merge Incremental Snapshot Upsert Dict in Python
Merge a snapshot dict into a base dict, recursively updating nested dictionaries while preferring snapshot values on conflicts.
def merge_upsert(base: dict, snapshot: dict) -> dict:
"""
Merge a snapshot dict into a base dict, preferring snapshot values
on key conflicts (upsert semantics). Nested dicts are merged recursively.
"""
result = dict(base)
for key, value in snapshot.items():
if key in result and i…How to Merge Multiple Data Sources in Python
A beginner-friendly helper that merges lists of dictionaries from multiple sources into one combined list using key filtering.
import json
def merge_pipeline_data(*data_sources, keys=()):
"""Merge multiple data sources (list of dicts) into a single list of merged dicts.
Args:
*data_sources: One or more lists of dictionaries.
keys: Tuple of keys to include from each source (empty means all keys).
Returns:
…How to Partition Output Files by Date Key in Python
Group output files into a dictionary partitioned by a YYYYMMDD date key extracted from the filename prefix.
from pathlib import Path
from collections import defaultdict
def partition_files_by_date(directory: str) -> dict:
"""Partition output files by date key extracted from filename (YYYYMMDD prefix)."""
path = Path(directory)
partitions = defaultdict(list)
for file in path.iterdir():
if file.i…How to Process CSV Data in Python with a Data Helper
Build a beginner-friendly data helper in Python that loads a CSV file, filters rows by a condition, and summarizes numeric fields.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
DATA = [
{"name": "Alice", "score": 88, "passed": True},
{"name": "Bob", "score": 42, "passed": False},
{"name": "Carol", "score": 95, "passed": True},
]
def load_csv(file_path: Path) -> list[dict]:
with file_path.open(newline="", encoding="utf-8") as f:
r…Browse by section
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Data pipelines & processing — Python code examples
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This page collects data pipelines & processing snippets — short, copy-ready Python you can paste into our free online IDE and run without installing anything. Each sample includes a plain-English explanation and the full source code.
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