What are the performance differences between Python collections?

What are the performance differences between lists, sets, and dictionaries in Python?

Lists are great for ordered data and allow duplicates, but searching is O(n). Sets are faster for membership tests at O(1) but are unordered. Dictionaries also offer O(1) for lookups and are key-value pairs, making them very efficient for certain tasks.

Can you give me an example of when to use a set instead of a list?

Sure! Use a set when you need to store unique items and perform fast membership tests, like checking if an item exists in a collection.

What about the memory usage of these collections?

Generally, lists use less memory than sets and dictionaries for small collections, but as the size grows, sets and dictionaries can be more efficient due to their hashing mechanisms.

Are there any performance benchmarks available for these collections?

Yes, there are various benchmarks available online that compare the performance of different Python collections. Libraries like timeit can also help you measure performance in your specific use case.