Reference library

Files & data

Read and write files safely; parse JSON, CSV, and common text formats.

2 matches
Files & data medium

How to Build a CSV Comparison Tool That Highlights Every Changed Cell in Python

Read two CSV files with DictReader, compare cell by cell, and return a list of dictionaries describing each changed cell using only the standard library.

csv comparison diff
Python
import csv
from pathlib import Path

def csv_cell_diff(file_a: str, file_b: str) -> list[dict]:
    rows_a = list(csv.DictReader(Path(file_a).open('r', newline='')))
    rows_b = list(csv.DictReader(Path(file_b).open('r', newline='')))
    if not rows_a or not rows_b:
        return []
    columns = list(rows_a[0].key…
41 0 Open
Files & data medium

How to Parse Apache Log Files in Python

Parse Apache common log format lines into structured dictionaries using Python's standard library.

apache regex log-parsing
Python
import re
from pathlib import Path

def parse_apache_line(line):
    pattern = r'^(\S+) (\S+) (\S+) \[([^\]]+)\] "(\S+) (\S+) (\S+)" (\d{3}) (\S+)'
    match = re.match(pattern, line)
    if not match:
        return None
    ip, ident, user, timestamp, method, path, protocol, status, size = match.groups()
    return …
15 0 Open

Browse by section

Each section groups closely related Python snippets.

Files & data — Python code examples

What you will find here

This page collects files & data 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.

Samples vs tutorials and challenges

Samples are quick reference — one concept per page. For step-by-step teaching, use our Python tutorials. To test yourself, try quizzes or coding challenges. Clean up style with the Python formatter.