Python list append and extend - slow speed

Question

I've got a list of around 6000 (text) objects, which I am trying to store and pass values from it (after manipulation) to another list. I am using the append and extend functions.

The program works fine and gives me the desired result, but it is too slow.

How can I increase its performance (without using С code in my program)?

Answer 1

You are after the collections module (included with Python).

This module implements specialized container datatypes providing alternatives to Python’s general purpose built-in containers.

At the top we see:

deque: list-like container with fast appends and pops on either end

from collections import deque

items = deque([1,2,3])
items.pop()
items.extend()
items.append()