Testing & modern typing
pytest basics, mocks, type hints, TypedDict, Protocol, and static-checking patterns.
How to Assert Exceptions in Python with pytest.raises
Use pytest.raises as a context manager to assert that a function raises an expected exception and inspect its message in pytest tests.
import pytest
def divide(a, b):
if b == 0:
raise ValueError("Cannot divide by zero")
return a / b
def test_divide_by_zero():
with pytest.raises(ValueError) as exc_info:
divide(10, 0)
assert str(exc_info.value) == "Cannot divide by zero"
assert "zero" in str(exc_info.value)
def te…How to Benchmark Python Code with pytest-benchmark and mocks
Use pytest-benchmark to measure function performance while combining Mock and patch for controlled test scenarios.
import time
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
import pytest
from pytest_benchmark.fixture import BenchmarkFixture
def heavy_operation(data: list[int]) -> int:
"""Simulates a CPU-bound operation."""
return sum(x * x for x in data)
def test_heavy_operation_benchmark(benchmark: BenchmarkFixture) -> None:…How to Capture Logging Records with pytest caplog in Python
Capture and assert on logging records in pytest using the built-in caplog fixture.
import logging
import pytest
def divide(a, b):
"""Divide two numbers and log an error if b is zero."""
if b == 0:
logging.error("Division by zero attempted")
return None
logging.info(f"Dividing {a} by {b}")
return a / b
def test_divide_logs_error(caplog):
with caplog.at_level(logg…How to Compare Execution Speed Between Python Functions
Measure and compare the average execution time of multiple Python functions using a reusable benchmark helper with time.perf_counter.
import time
import random
def method_a(values):
"""Sort using built-in sorted."""
return sorted(values)
def method_b(values):
"""Sort using list's sort method."""
values_copy = values[:]
values_copy.sort()
return values_copy
def method_c(values):
"""Sort manually using bubble sort (slow,…How to Compare Files and Show a Diff in Python
Compare two text files and print a unified diff using Python's difflib module to highlight differences.
import difflib
from pathlib import Path
def compare_files(expected_path: str, actual_path: str) -> str:
"""Compare two text files and return a unified diff."""
expected = Path(expected_path).read_text()
actual = Path(actual_path).read_text()
diff = difflib.unified_diff(
expected.splitlines(ke…How to Compare Floats in pytest with approx
Uses pytest.approx to compare floating-point numbers with tolerance, avoiding precision issues.
import pytest
def test_float_addition():
result = 0.1 + 0.2
expected = 0.3
assert result == pytest.approx(expected)How to Convert Strings to Types in Python Using TypeVar
A beginner-friendly helper that converts a string to int, float, bool, or str with type hints and graceful failure handling.
from typing import TypeVar, Optional
T = TypeVar("T")
def convert_data(value: str, target_type: type[T]) -> Optional[T]:
"""Convert string value to target type; return None on failure."""
try:
if target_type is int:
return int(value)
elif target_type is float:
return f…How to Filter Data in Python with Type Hints
A reusable filter_data helper uses optional predicates and numeric bounds with modern Python type hints.
from typing import Iterable, TypeVar, Callable, Any
T = TypeVar("T")
def filter_data(
items: Iterable[T],
predicate: Callable[[T], bool] | None = None,
*,
min_value: float | None = None,
max_value: float | None = None,
) -> list[T]:
"""Filter items by predicate and/or numeric bounds."""
r…How to Flag Unexpected Diff Changes in Python
Compares two snapshot lists, detects unexpected differences, and returns a flag indicating whether the snapshot should be updated.
import difflib
def snapshot_diff(before, after, intentional_changes=None):
"""Compare snapshots and flag only unexpected differences."""
intentional_changes = intentional_changes or set()
diff = list(difflib.unified_diff(before, after, lineterm=""))
has_unexpected = False
for line in diff:
…How to Group Data by Key in Python with Type Hints
Group a list of dictionaries by a specified key using a typed helper function and print a summary of each group.
from typing import Any, Dict, List, TypeVar, Union
T = TypeVar("T")
def group_by(data: List[Dict[str, Any]], key: str) -> Dict[Any, List[Dict[str, Any]]]:
"""Group a list of dictionaries by a given key."""
grouped: Dict[Any, List[Dict[str, Any]]] = {}
for item in data:
value = item.get(key)
…How to Load Test a Local API with Locust in Python
Defines a Locust load test that simulates traffic to local endpoints, enabling manual load testing against a development server.
from locust import HttpUser, task, between
class WebsiteUser(HttpUser):
wait_time = between(1, 3)
@task
def home_page(self):
self.client.get("/")
@task(3)
def about_page(self):
self.client.get("/about")
if __name__ == "__main__":
print("Run with: locust -f this_file.py --h…How to Merge TypedDicts in Python
Merge two TypedDict dictionaries with type-aware logic using NotRequired, **kwargs unpacking, and safe key updates.
from typing import TypedDict, NotRequired, merge # hypothetical
class User(TypedDict):
name: str
email: NotRequired[str]
age: NotRequired[int]
def merge_users(base: User, **overrides: User) -> User:
"""Merge two user dicts with typing-aware logic."""
result: User = dict(base)
for key, value …How to Mock a Factory Boy Model Instance in Python
Create a factory boy factory, then patch its Meta.model with a Mock to control instance behavior in tests.
import factory
from dataclasses import dataclass
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
import builtins
@dataclass
class User:
name: str
age: int
class UserFactory(factory.Factory):
class Meta:
model = User
name = "Alice"
age = 30
def get_user_name(user):
return user.name
def ma…How to Mock an Object Method in Python unittest
Mock a method on an instance or class with @patch.object, set its return value, and assert its call arguments in Python unittest.
import unittest
from unittest.mock import patch
class Calculator:
def add(self, a, b):
return a + b
def multiply(self, a, b):
return a * b
class TestCalculator(unittest.TestCase):
def test_add_normal(self):
calc = Calculator()
result = calc.add(2, 3)
self.asse…How to Mock and Stub API Calls in Playwright E2E Tests with Python
This code demonstrates how to mock and stub API responses in Playwright end-to-end tests using Python's unittest.mock patch and Playwright's APIRequestContext.
import re
from unittest.mock import patch
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
def verify_api_mock(page, mock_url, mock_response):
with patch("playwright.sync_api.APIRequestContext.get") as mock_get:
mock_get.return_value.json.return_value = mock_response
mock_get.return_value.status_co…How to Mock open() in Python for Reading File Data
This example shows how to mock Python's built-in open() function using unittest.mock to simulate file reading without touching the disk.
import builtins
from unittest.mock import patch
def read_file_data(filename):
with open(filename, 'r') as f:
return f.read()
def mock_read_data():
fake_data = "This is mocked file content"
class FakeFile:
def __enter__(self):
return self
def __exit__(self, *args):…How to Mock pathlib Path.read_text with mock_open in Python
Mock pathlib.Path.read_text using patch and mock_open to test file-reading code without touching the filesystem.
import pathlib
from unittest.mock import mock_open, patch
def read_config(filepath: pathlib.Path) -> str:
"""Read file content with pathlib."""
return filepath.read_text()
if __name__ == "__main__":
mock_data = "version: 1.0\nname: demo-app"
with patch("pathlib.Path.open", mock_open(read_data=mo…How to Mock requests.get in Python
Mock requests.get with unittest.mock to test code that makes HTTP calls without hitting the network.
import requests
from unittest.mock import Mock, patch
def fetch_user_data(user_id):
response = requests.get(f"https://api.example.com/users/{user_id}")
return response.json()
def process_user(user_id):
mock_response = Mock()
mock_response.json.return_value = {"id": user_id, "name": "Alice", "age": 30…How to Mock return_value with MagicMock in Python unittest
Use unittest.mock.MagicMock to replace a dependency and set return_value to control what a mocked method returns during unit tests.
import unittest
from unittest.mock import MagicMock
class PaymentGateway:
def charge(self, amount):
raise NotImplementedError
class OrderService:
def __init__(self, gateway):
self.gateway = gateway
def process_order(self, amount):
return self.gateway.charge(amount)
class Test…How to Mock subprocess.run returncode in Python
Simulate subprocess.run return codes in tests with unittest.mock.patch and CompletedProcess.
import subprocess
from unittest.mock import patch
def run_command(cmd):
result = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True)
return result.returncode
if __name__ == "__main__":
with patch("subprocess.run") as mock_run:
# Simulate a successful command (returncode 0)
mock_run.retu…How to Parametrize pytest Tests with Multiple Input Cases in Python
This code shows how to use pytest's @pytest.mark.parametrize decorator to run the same test function across multiple input-output combinations, checking that an add function behaves correctly for each case.
import pytest
def add(a, b):
return a + b
@pytest.mark.parametrize("a,b,expected", [
(1, 2, 3),
(5, 5, 10),
(-1, 1, 0),
(0, 0, 0),
(10, -3, 7),
])
def test_add(a, b, expected):
assert add(a, b) == expected
if __name__ == "__main__":
pytest.main([__file__, "-v"])How to Parse Data with Type Hints in Python
A beginner-friendly helper that parses simple dictionary- or list-like strings into typed Python structures using modern typing annotations.
from typing import Any, Dict, List, Union
def parse_data(raw: str) -> Union[Dict[str, Any], List[Any], str]:
"""Parse a simple string into structured data using type hints."""
cleaned = raw.strip()
if not cleaned:
return {}
if cleaned.startswith("{") and cleaned.endswith("}"):
…How to Run Test Coverage with pytest-cov in Python
Run pytest with coverage reporting using pytest-cov on a temporary project and see line-by-line coverage output.
import os
import subprocess
import tempfile
from pathlib import Path
def sample_function(x: int) -> int:
"""A simple function to demonstrate coverage."""
if x > 0:
return x * 2
else:
return -x
def run_pytest_with_coverage() -> str:
"""Run pytest with coverage on a temp project and r…How to Run an Integration Test with Docker Compose Mock in Python
Run a Python integration test against a docker-compose environment, using mocks to simulate service health and business logic responses.
import subprocess
import json
from typing import Dict
def run_integration_test() -> Dict[str, str]:
"""
Simulates an integration test against a docker-compose environment
using a mock service that returns canned responses.
"""
# Mock docker-compose environment check
env_ready = subprocess.run(…Browse by section
Each section groups closely related Python snippets.
Testing & modern typing — Python code examples
What you will find here
This page collects testing & modern typing 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.