What are some use cases for Python's deque?

What are some use cases for Python's deque?

Python's deque is great for scenarios where you need fast appends and pops from both ends. Common use cases include implementing queues, stacks, and even breadth-first search algorithms.

Can you give me an example of using deque for a queue?

Sure! You can use deque to create a queue like this:

from collections import deque

queue = deque()
queue.append('task1')  # Add to the end
queue.append('task2')

while queue:
    task = queue.popleft()  # Remove from the front
    print(f'Processing {task}')

What about using deque for a stack?

For a stack, you can use deque like this:

from collections import deque

stack = deque()
stack.append('item1')  # Push onto the stack
stack.append('item2')

while stack:
    item = stack.pop()  # Pop from the top
    print(f'Popped {item}')

Are there any performance benefits of using deque over a list?

Yes, deque provides O(1) time complexity for append and pop operations from both ends, while lists have O(n) for these operations at the front.