Reliability & rate limiting
Retries, exponential backoff, circuit breakers, token buckets, and idempotent handlers.
At Least Once with Idempotent Consumer in Python
Implements a thread-safe idempotent consumer that processes each unique message exactly once, even when a producer sends duplicates under an at-least-once delivery model.
import threading
import time
import uuid
from collections import Counter
class IdempotentConsumer:
def __init__(self):
self.processed = set()
self._lock = threading.Lock()
def consume(self, message_id, payload):
with self._lock:
if message_id in self.processed:
…Circuit breaker failure threshold count in Python
Track consecutive or time-windowed failures with a deque to open a circuit breaker and auto-recover to half-open after a cooldown.
from collections import deque
from time import time, sleep
class CircuitBreaker:
def __init__(self, failure_threshold: int = 5, recovery_time: float = 10.0):
self.failure_threshold = failure_threshold
self.recovery_time = recovery_time
self.failures: deque[float] = deque()
self.st…GCRA generic cell rate algorithm in Python
Mock implementation of the Generic Cell Rate Algorithm (GCRA) for traffic shaping and rate limiting.
from collections import deque
import time
class GCRA:
def __init__(self, rate, burst):
self.tau = burst
self.T = rate
self.t = 0
self.LCT = 0
def add_cell(self, arrival_time):
if arrival_time <= self.t:
return False
arrived_early = (arrival_time - s…How to Cap Retry Attempts in Python with a Decorator
Build a reusable retry decorator that caps attempts, adds delays, and lets flaky services fail fast instead of hanging.
import random
from functools import wraps
from time import sleep
def retry(max_attempts, delay=0.1):
def decorator(func):
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
attempts = 0
while attempts < max_attempts:
try:
return func(*args, **kw…How to Implement Graceful Degradation with Feature Disabling in Python
A pattern that disables enhanced features and falls back to basic functionality when a dependency fails, with mock-based testing.
import random
from unittest.mock import patch
class EnhancedFeature:
"""A feature that can gracefully degrade when a dependency is unavailable."""
def __init__(self):
self.feature_enabled = True
def get_enhanced_data(self):
"""Simulate an enhanced feature that depends on external data."…How to Implement Hedged Requests in Python
This code demonstrates a hedged request pattern using threading, which sends duplicate calls and returns the first result that arrives within a timeout.
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock
def hedged_request(call, timeout=0.05):
"""Execute two duplicate calls, return first result within timeout."""
result_container = {}
def run_and_store():
result_container['result'] = call()
result_container['done'] = True
# Simulate slow cal…How to Implement a Bulkhead Pattern with Threading in Python
Implement a bulkhead pattern in Python that isolates concurrent tasks with a bounded semaphore, limiting active workers to prevent resource exhaustion.
import threading
import time
import random
class Bulkhead:
def __init__(self, workers: int):
self._semaphore = threading.BoundedSemaphore(workers)
self._lock = threading.Lock()
self._active = 0
def run(self, task):
with self._semaphore:
with self._lock:
…How to Implement a Circuit Breaker in Python
A Python dataclass that provides circuit breaker logic with closed, open, and half-open states to fail fast on repeated errors.
from dataclasses import dataclass
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
import time
@dataclass
class CircuitBreaker:
failure_threshold: int = 3
timeout_seconds: float = 5.0
failures: int = 0
state: str = "closed"
last_failure: datetime = None
def call(self, func):
if self.state ==…How to Implement a Sliding Window Log Rate Limiter in Python
Implements a sliding window log rate limiter in Python using a deque of timestamps to enforce a maximum request count within a rolling time window.
from collections import deque
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
from time import sleep
class SlidingWindowLog:
def __init__(self, window_seconds: int, max_requests: int):
self.window_seconds = window_seconds
self.max_requests = max_requests
self.timestamps = deque()
def allow_…How to Implement a Token Bucket Rate Limiter per Client IP in Python
Implements a simple sliding-window rate limiter using a dictionary of timestamp lists per client IP to limit requests per window.
from time import time
from collections import defaultdict
class RateLimiter:
def __init__(self, max_requests: int, window_seconds: int):
self.max_requests = max_requests
self.window_seconds = window_seconds
self.clients = defaultdict(list)
def allow(self, ip: str) -> bool:
now…How to Implement an Adaptive Rate Limiter in Python
Build an adaptive rate limiter that adjusts request intervals dynamically based on recent error rates, slowing down when failures spike.
import time
import random
class AdaptiveRateLimiter:
"""Simple adaptive rate limiter that reduces requests when error rate is high."""
def __init__(self, min_interval=0.1, max_interval=2.0, error_threshold=0.3):
self.min_interval = min_interval
self.max_interval = max_interval
sel…How to Mock a Circuit Breaker Reset Timeout in Python
This code implements a simple circuit breaker with a reset timeout test, simulating a flaky service to show half-open state transitions.
import time
import random
class CircuitBreaker:
def __init__(self, failure_threshold=3, reset_timeout=5):
self.failure_threshold = failure_threshold
self.reset_timeout = reset_timeout
self.failure_count = 0
self.last_failure_time = None
self.state = "CLOSED" # CLOSED (nor…How to Mock a Liveness Check and Restart a Process in Python
Simulate a failing process and restart it after a liveness check fails, using a mock class and a liveness loop.
import subprocess
import sys
import time
import os
class ProcessMock:
def __init__(self, name, fail_after_seconds=3):
self.name = name
self.fail_after = fail_after_seconds
self.start_time = None
self.is_running = False
def start(self):
self.start_time = time.time()
…How to Propagate Context Variables with asyncio in Python
Use Python's ContextVar with asyncio to carry deadline information across concurrent tasks and propagate context automatically.
import asyncio
from contextvars import ContextVar
from datetime import datetime
deadline = ContextVar("deadline", default=None)
async def worker(name):
current = deadline.get()
if current:
print(f"{name} sees deadline: {current}")
else:
print(f"{name} sees no deadline")
await asyncio.…How to Send Messages to a Dead Letter Queue in Python
Simulates a poison message queue that retries failed messages up to a limit before moving them to a dead letter queue.
import json
class PoisonMessageQueue:
def __init__(self, max_retries=3):
self.dlq = []
self.max_retries = max_retries
self.processed_count = 0
self.failed_count = 0
def process_message(self, message_body):
if "poison" in message_body:
self.failed_count += 1…How to Simulate an Outbox Pattern with Reliable Retry in Python
This code implements a mock outbox pattern with records, delivery attempts, and retries to simulate reliable message publishing.
import time
import itertools
class Outbox:
def __init__(self):
self._records = []
self._seq = itertools.count(1)
def publish(self, topic, payload):
record = {
"id": next(self._seq),
"topic": topic,
"payload": payload,
"status": "pending"…How to implement a rate-limited shared counter in Python
Implements a thread-safe global counter that allows a maximum number of increments per second using a lock and time-based refill.
import threading
import time
import random
counter = 0
lock = threading.Lock()
MAX_CALLS_PER_SECOND = 3
last_refill = time.time()
def rate_limited_increment():
global counter, last_refill
with lock:
now = time.time()
if now - last_refill >= 1.0:
last_refill = now
count…How to implement rate limiting per API key in Python
A simple sliding-window rate limiter that tracks request timestamps per API key and rejects requests exceeding the configured limit.
import time
API_RATE_LIMITS = {"api_key_1": 5, "api_key_2": 3} # max requests per window
WINDOW_SECONDS = 10
class RateLimiter:
def __init__(self, limits, window):
self.limits = limits
self.window = window
self.requests = {key: [] for key in limits}
def allow(self, api_key):
…How to retry idempotent operations with a mock in Python
Wrap a flaky idempotent operation in a retry loop with exponential backoff, and use unittest.mock to deterministically test the str's behavior.
import random
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock
def idempotent_operation(value):
"""Simulate an idempotent operation that sometimes fails."""
if random.random() < 0.6: # 60% failure rate
raise ConnectionError("Temporary failure")
return value * 2
def retry_with_backoff(operation, max_…Implement a Circuit Breaker Pattern in Python
This code implements a simple circuit breaker that opens after a threshold of consecutive failures, causing subsequent calls to fail fast without invoking the underlying function.
class CircuitBreaker:
def __init__(self, failure_threshold=3):
self.failure_threshold = failure_threshold
self.failure_count = 0
self.open = False
def call(self, func, *args, **kwargs):
if self.open:
raise RuntimeError("Circuit is open - failing fast")
try:
…Leaky Bucket Rate Limiter in Python: Smooth Burst Traffic
Implements a token-bucket-style leaky bucket rate limiter that smooths bursty traffic by draining at a fixed rate and dropping excess packets.
import time
import random
class LeakyBucket:
def __init__(self, capacity, drain_rate):
self.capacity = capacity
self.drain_rate = drain_rate
self.water = 0.0
self.last_time = time.time()
def allow(self, packet_size=1.0):
now = time.time()
elapsed = now - self.…Mock Distributed Rate Limiter with Dict in Python
Simulates a distributed token-bucket rate limiter with a thread-safe dict, useful for testing before moving to Redis.
import time
import threading
from collections import defaultdict
class DistributedRateLimiter:
"""
A mock distributed rate limiter using a dict with thread-safe access.
Implements a token bucket algorithm per user.
"""
def __init__(self, rate_per_second=5, burst_capacity=10):
self.rate_p…Mock a Two-Phase Commit Coordinator in Python
Simulates a two-phase commit protocol where a coordinator asks participants to prepare, then commits or aborts based on unanimous readiness.
import random
import time
from typing import Dict, List
class TwoPhaseCommitCoordinator:
def __init__(self, participants: List[str]):
self.participants = participants
self.participant_state: Dict[str, bool] = {}
def prepare(self) -> bool:
print("[Coordinator] Phase 1: Prepare")
…Retry with Exponential Backoff and Jitter in Python
A decorator-style retry wrapper that retries a flaky function with exponential backoff plus random jitter, then raises after the last attempt fails.
import random
import time
def retry_with_backoff(func, max_retries=3, base_delay=0.5, max_jitter=0.1):
for attempt in range(max_retries + 1):
try:
return func()
except Exception as e:
if attempt == max_retries:
raise
delay = base_delay * (2 ** at…Browse by section
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Reliability & rate limiting — Python code examples
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