What are some use cases for the Python collections module?

What are some use cases for the Python collections module?

The Python collections module provides specialized container datatypes. Common use cases include using Counter for counting hashable objects, defaultdict for handling missing keys, and namedtuple for creating lightweight object types.

Can you give me an example of using Counter?

Sure! You can use Counter to count the occurrences of elements in a list. For example: from collections import Counter; counts = Counter(['apple', 'banana', 'apple']); print(counts) will output Counter({'apple': 2, 'banana': 1}).

What about defaultdict? How does it work?

A defaultdict is a subclass of the built-in dict. It overrides one method to provide a default value for a nonexistent key. For example: from collections import defaultdict; d = defaultdict(int); d['key'] += 1 initializes 'key' with a default value of 0.

Are there any performance benefits to using these collections?

Yes, using collections like Counter and defaultdict can improve performance by reducing the need for key checks and simplifying code, especially in scenarios involving large datasets.