Python - sys.intern

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Interning Strings Explicitly To Speed Up Your Code

Python, as an elegant programming language, always opens a door for us. As to string interning, there is a built-in function that we can use to intern a string explicitly. It is the intern() function in the sys module.

Let’s see how it works by a simple example:

import sys  
c = sys.intern('Y'*4097)  
d = sys.intern('Y'*4097)  
c is d  
True

own above, with the help of the intern() function, we can force Python to intern the strings no matter what the implicit rules are.

In practice, if we need to compare some long strings and the same value may appear many times, using the intern() function explicitly is a recommended way to speed up the string comparisons.

On the one hand, it can take advantage of the string interning mechanism in Python. On the other hand, it will not let us fall into the trap of complex rules.

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