Python 3: dict & dict.keys()

[Ethan Furman]

On 07/24/2013 10:23 AM, Stefan Behnel wrote:
> Peter Otten, 24.07.2013 08:23:
>> Ethan Furman wrote:
>>>
>>> So, my question boils down to:  in Python 3 how is dict.keys() different
>>> from dict?  What are the use cases?
>>
>> To me it looks like views are a solution waiting for a problem.
>
> They reduce the API overhead. Previously, you needed values() and
> itervalues(), with values() being not more than a special case of what
> itervalues() provides anyway. Now it's just one method that gives you
> everything. It simply has corrected the tradeoff from two special purpose
> APIs to one general purpose API, that's all.

I started this thread for two reasons:

   1) Increase awareness that using `list(dict)` is a cross-version replacement for `dict.keys()`

   2) Hopefully learn something about when a view is useful.

So far #2 is pretty much a failure.  Only one use-case so far (and it feels pretty rare).  But hey, I have learned that 
while some set operations are allowed (&, ^, |, .isdisjoint()), others are not (.remove(), .discard(), .union(), etc.).

The old .keys(), .values(), and .items() (and their .iter...() variations) did something commonly useful.  Of what 
common use are these views?

--
~Ethan~