Reliability & rate limiting
Retries, exponential backoff, circuit breakers, token buckets, and idempotent handlers.
How to Build a Rate Limiter in Python
A beginner-friendly token bucket rate limiter with retry logic for handling API rate limits in Python.
import time
import random
class RateLimiter:
"""Simple token bucket rate limiter for beginners."""
def __init__(self, max_tokens=5, refill_rate=1.0):
self.max_tokens = max_tokens
self.tokens = max_tokens
self.refill_rate = refill_rate # tokens per second
self.last_refill …How to Build a Rate Limiter in Python
Implements a simple sliding-window rate limiter that caps the number of calls per period, used to throttle processing of a data list.
import time
class RateLimiter:
def __init__(self, max_calls, period):
self.max_calls = max_calls
self.period = period
self.timestamps = []
def allow(self):
now = time.time()
self.timestamps = [t for t in self.timestamps if now - t < self.period]
if len(self.tim…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 Deduplicate Messages in Python by ID
This code consumes a mock inbox of JSON messages and deduplicates them by message ID, keeping either the first or last occurrence.
import json
from collections import OrderedDict
mock_inbox = [
{"id": 1, "message": "hello", "timestamp": "2024-01-01T10:00:00Z"},
{"id": 2, "message": "world", "timestamp": "2024-01-01T10:01:00Z"},
{"id": 1, "message": "hello", "timestamp": "2024-01-01T10:00:00Z"},
{"id": 3, "message": "test", "times…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 Message Visibility Timeout Renewal in Python
Simulate queue message visibility control with timeout renewal using a simple Python class that tracks received time and visibility state.
import time
import uuid
class Message:
def __init__(self, body, visibility_timeout=30):
self.body = body
self.visibility_timeout = visibility_timeout
self.receipt_handle = str(uuid.uuid4())
self.received_at = time.time()
self.deleted = False
def is_visible(self):
…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 Dead Letter Queue Replay in Python
A mock Dead Letter Queue that stores failed messages with retry attempts and replays them with a simple retry counter.
import json
from collections import deque
class DeadLetterQueue:
def __init__(self):
self.messages = deque()
def add_message(self, message_id, payload, attempts=3):
"""Add a message to the DLQ with retry metadata."""
self.messages.append({
"id": message_id,
…How to Implement a Rate Limiter in Python
A beginner-friendly Python class that tracks call timestamps with a deque to allow or block calls based on a max rate per time period.
import time
from collections import deque
class RateLimiter:
"""Simple rate limiter for beginners."""
def __init__(self, max_calls: int, period_seconds: float):
self.max_calls = max_calls
self.period = period_seconds
self.calls = deque()
def allow(self) -> bool:
"""Retur…How to Implement a Sliding Window Counter in Python
This code implements an approximate sliding window counter using a deque of time-based buckets to track event counts within a recent time window.
from collections import deque
from time import time
class SlidingWindowCounter:
def __init__(self, window_size, bucket_size=1):
self.window_size = window_size
self.bucket_size = bucket_size
self.buckets = deque()
def _evict_expired(self, now):
while self.buckets and self.buck…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 Temporary Block in Python
Build a reusable PenaltyBox class that temporarily blocks access after a failure and reports remaining lockout time.
class PenaltyBox:
def __init__(self, block_seconds: int = 30):
self.block_seconds = block_seconds
self._blocked_until = 0.0
self._attempts = 0
def try_access(self, current_time: float) -> bool:
if self._blocked_until and current_time < self._blocked_until:
return Fa…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 Inject Random Latency for Chaos Testing in Python
Mock unreliable services by wrapping functions with a decorator that adds random network-like delays before execution.
import random
import time
from functools import wraps
def inject_latency(func):
@wraps(func)
def wrapper(*args, **kwargs):
latency = random.uniform(0.1, 0.5)
print(f"Injecting {latency:.3f}s latency...")
time.sleep(latency)
return func(*args, **kwargs)
return wrapper
@inje…How to Mock Daily and Monthly Quota Counters in Python
Track daily and monthly API call usage with automatic resets, quota checks, and limits using a Python class.
import random
from datetime import datetime, timedelta
class QuotaCounter:
def __init__(self, daily_limit=1000, monthly_limit=20000):
self.daily_limit = daily_limit
self.monthly_limit = monthly_limit
self.daily_usage = 0
self.monthly_usage = 0
self.current_day = datetime.n…How to Mock Fault Injection Percentage in Python
Simulate a service with a 30% failure rate using random.random to test error handling and retries.
import random
class Service:
def call(self):
if random.random() < 0.3: # 30% failure rate
raise ConnectionError("Simulated network fault")
return "ok"
def main():
svc = Service()
random.seed(42) # deterministic for demonstration
results = []
for _ in range(10):
…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 Mock a Slow Startup Probe in Python
Simulate slow service initialization with a configurable mock delay to test readiness probes.
import time
from dataclasses import dataclass, field
@dataclass
class StartupProbe:
name: str
min_wait_sec: float = 0.5
max_wait_sec: float = 2.0
_ready: bool = field(default=False, init=False, repr=False)
def initialize(self) -> None:
"""Simulate slow startup with a fixed mock delay."""…How to Mock a Timeout per HTTP Request in Python
Simulate a per-request HTTP timeout using unittest.mock to test timeout handling without network access.
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
# Simulate an HTTP client that might time out
def fetch_data(url, timeout=5):
time.sleep(0.5) # Simulate network delay
return f"Response from {url}"
# Mock to test timeout behavior without real network
def test_timeout():
mock_response = Mock(side_effect…How to Mock a Try Confirm Cancel Pattern in Python
Define a simple class with confirm and cancel methods, execute a try confirm with error handling, and print the final state.
class TCC:
def __init__(self):
self.confirmed = False
self.cancelled = False
def confirm(self):
self.confirmed = True
return "confirmed"
def cancel(self):
self.cancelled = True
return "cancelled"
def try_confirm(self):
try:
result =…Browse by section
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Reliability & rate limiting — Python code examples
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