lru-dict 1.0

An Dict like LRU container.

LRU Dict

A fixed size dict like container which evicts Least Recently Used (LRU) items once size limit is exceeded. There are many python implementations available which does similar things. This is a fast and efficient C implementation which is not thread safe. If you are looking for pure python version, look else where.

Usage

This can be used to build a LRU cache. Usage is almost like a dict.

from lru import LRU
l = LRU(5)         # Create an LRU container that can hold 5 items
for i in range(5):
   l[i] = str(i)
print l.items()    # Prints items in MRU order
# Would print [(4, '4'), (3, '3'), (2, '2'), (1, '1'), (0, '0')]

l[5] = '5'         # Inserting one more item should evict the old item
print l.items()
# Would print [(5, '5'), (4, '4'), (3, '3'), (2, '2'), (1, '1')]

l[3]               # Accessing an item would make it MRU
l.items()
# Would print [(3, '3'), (5, '5'), (4, '4'), (2, '2'), (1, '1')]
# Now 3 is in front

l.keys()           # Can get keys alone in MRU order
# Would print [3, 5, 4, 2, 1]

del l[4]           # Delete an item
print l.items()
# Would print [(3, '3'), (5, '5'), (2, '2'), (1, '1')]

When to use this

Like mentioned above there are many python implementations of an LRU. Use this if you need a faster and memory efficient alternative. It is implemented with a dict and associated linked list to keep track of LRU order. See code for a more detailed explanation.