What are some tips for using the Python collections module?

What are some tips for using the Python collections module?

The Python collections module provides alternatives to built-in types. Here are some tips:

1. Use Counter for counting hashable objects.
2. Use defaultdict to avoid key errors with default values.
3. Use namedtuple for creating tuple subclasses with named fields.

Can you give an example of how to use defaultdict?

Sure! Here's a simple example:

from collections import defaultdict

# Create a defaultdict with a default value of list
my_dict = defaultdict(list)

# Append values to the list for each key
my_dict['a'].append(1)
my_dict['a'].append(2)
my_dict['b'].append(3)

print(my_dict)
# Output: defaultdict(<class 'list'>, {'a': [1, 2], 'b': [3]})

What about using namedtuple? How does it work?

namedtuple allows you to create tuple subclasses with named fields for better readability. Here's an example:

from collections import namedtuple

# Define a namedtuple called 'Point'
Point = namedtuple('Point', ['x', 'y'])

# Create an instance of Point
p = Point(10, 20)

print(p.x, p.y)  # Output: 10 20