How does the Counter class in Python's collections module perform?

How does the Counter class in Python's collections module perform compared to a regular dictionary?

The Counter class is optimized for counting hashable objects, making it faster for counting operations than a regular dictionary.

Can you give me an example of how to use the Counter class?

Sure! You can use it like this: from collections import Counter; counts = Counter(['a', 'b', 'a']) which will give you Counter({'a': 2, 'b': 1}).

Are there any performance benchmarks available for the Counter class?

Yes, various benchmarks show that Counter is generally faster for counting elements than using a dictionary, especially with large datasets.

What are some common use cases for the Counter class?

Common use cases include counting occurrences of items in a list, tallying votes, or analyzing text frequency.