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"
…
Build a Python Utility That Detects Duplicate Records Across Multiple Excel Sheets
A Python utility that uses pandas to find overlapping records across different Excel sheets based on specified key columns.
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path
def find_duplicate_records_across_sheets(file_path: str, key_columns: list, sheet_names: list) -> dict:
"""
Detect duplicate records across multiple Excel sheets based on specified key columns.
Args:
file_path: Path to the Excel file
key_co…
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…
Fan Out Records to Multiple Sinks in Python
Distribute the same records across multiple target sinks (database, API, queue, etc.) using a defaultdict-based fan-out pattern.
import json
from collections import defaultdict
SINKS = ["database", "api", "message_queue", "data_lake", "monitoring"]
def fan_out(records, *sinks):
dist = defaultdict(list)
for record in records:
for sink in sinks:
dist[sink].append(record)
return dict(dist)
if __name__ == "__main_…
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=(",", ":"…
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 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 Implement Slowly Changing Dimension Type 2 History in Python
Build a type-2 slowly changing dimension pipeline that closes old records and opens new ones when customer data changes.
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
def apply_scd_type2(records, current_date):
"""Returns active records after inserting new records with type-2 history."""
history = []
active = {}
for record in records:
key = record["customer_id"]
if key in active:
active[key]["end…
How to List Failed Records in a Dead Letter Queue Mock in Python
A mock Dead Letter Queue stores failed processing records with error details and timestamps, lists them, and exports to JSON.
import json
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
import random
class DeadLetterQueue:
def __init__(self):
self.failed_records = []
def add_failed_record(self, record_id, payload, error_message):
self.failed_records.append({
"record_id": record_id,
"payload": paylo…
How to Track Checkpoint Offset After Batch Commit in Python
A batch processor that tracks the last successfully committed offset after processing records in batches, advancing the checkpoint only when each batch commits successfully.
import json
from typing import Any
class BatchProcessor:
"""Tracks checkpoint offset after committing batches."""
def __init__(self, batch_size: int = 3):
self.batch_size = batch_size
self.offset = 0 # last successfully committed offset (exclusive)
self.total_committed = 0
def …
How to shard output by primary key hash mod N in Python
This code computes a consistent shard index for any primary key string using an MD5 hash mod the number of shards, enabling stable key-based data distribution.
import hashlib
def shard_id(primary_key: str, num_shards: int) -> int:
"""Return the shard index for a primary key using MD5 hash mod N."""
digest = hashlib.md5(primary_key.encode("utf-8")).hexdigest()
hash_int = int(digest, 16)
return hash_int % num_shards
if __name__ == "__main__":
keys = ["use…
Idempotent Pipeline Dedupe by Record ID Set in Python
Filters records against a persistent set of seen IDs, returning only new ones and the updated set for idempotent pipeline processing.
def dedupe_records(records, seen_ids=None):
"""Return records whose id has not been seen before."""
if seen_ids is None:
seen_ids = set()
unique = []
for record in records:
record_id = record.get("id")
if record_id not in seen_ids:
seen_ids.add(record_id)
…
Implement Exactly-Once Transaction Log in Python
A mock transaction log that deduplicates transaction IDs so each is recorded only once, with a dataclass for records and simple in-memory storage.
from dataclasses import dataclass
from typing import Dict, Optional
@dataclass
class TxnRecord:
txn_id: str
status: str
class ExactlyOnceTxnLog:
def __init__(self) -> None:
self._log: Dict[str, TxnRecord] = {}
self._processed_ids: set = set()
def record(self, txn_id: str, status: s…
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