Improve readability of collections docs by adding a summary table

at the top and by list concrete classes before abstract base classes.

1 files changed, 132 insertions, 125 deletions

diff --git a/Doc/library/collections.rst b/Doc/library/collections.rst
index 6c881f5..741c7a0 100644
--- a/Doc/library/collections.rst
+++ b/Doc/library/collections.rst
@@ -12,131 +12,24 @@
    import itertools
    __name__ = '<doctest>'
 
-This module implements high-performance container datatypes.  Currently,
-there are four datatypes, :class:`Counter`, :class:`deque`, :class:`OrderedDict` and
-:class:`defaultdict`, and one datatype factory function, :func:`namedtuple`.
-
-The specialized containers provided in this module provide alternatives
-to Python's general purpose built-in containers, :class:`dict`,
-:class:`list`, :class:`set`, and :class:`tuple`.
-
-In addition to containers, the collections module provides some ABCs
-(abstract base classes) that can be used to test whether a class
-provides a particular interface, for example, whether it is hashable or
-a mapping.
-
-ABCs - abstract base classes
-----------------------------
-
-The collections module offers the following ABCs:
-
-=========================  =====================  ======================  ====================================================
-ABC                        Inherits               Abstract Methods        Mixin Methods
-=========================  =====================  ======================  ====================================================
-:class:`Container`                                ``__contains__``
-:class:`Hashable`                                 ``__hash__``
-:class:`Iterable`                                 ``__iter__``
-:class:`Iterator`          :class:`Iterable`      ``__next__``            ``__iter__``
-:class:`Sized`                                    ``__len__``
-:class:`Callable`                                 ``__call__``
-
-:class:`Sequence`          :class:`Sized`,        ``__getitem__``         ``__contains__``. ``__iter__``, ``__reversed__``.
-                           :class:`Iterable`,                             ``index``, and ``count``
-                           :class:`Container`
-
-:class:`MutableSequence`   :class:`Sequence`      ``__setitem__``         Inherited Sequence methods and
-                                                  ``__delitem__``,        ``append``, ``reverse``, ``extend``, ``pop``,
-                                                  and ``insert``          ``remove``, and ``__iadd__``
-
-:class:`Set`               :class:`Sized`,                                ``__le__``, ``__lt__``, ``__eq__``, ``__ne__``,
-                           :class:`Iterable`,                             ``__gt__``, ``__ge__``, ``__and__``, ``__or__``
-                           :class:`Container`                             ``__sub__``, ``__xor__``, and ``isdisjoint``
-
-:class:`MutableSet`        :class:`Set`           ``add`` and             Inherited Set methods and
-                                                  ``discard``             ``clear``, ``pop``, ``remove``, ``__ior__``,
-                                                                          ``__iand__``, ``__ixor__``, and ``__isub__``
-
-:class:`Mapping`           :class:`Sized`,        ``__getitem__``         ``__contains__``, ``keys``, ``items``, ``values``,
-                           :class:`Iterable`,                             ``get``, ``__eq__``, and ``__ne__``
-                           :class:`Container`
-
-:class:`MutableMapping`    :class:`Mapping`       ``__setitem__`` and     Inherited Mapping methods and
-                                                  ``__delitem__``         ``pop``, ``popitem``, ``clear``, ``update``,
-                                                                          and ``setdefault``
-
-
-:class:`MappingView`       :class:`Sized`                                 ``__len__``
-:class:`KeysView`          :class:`MappingView`,                          ``__contains__``,
-                           :class:`Set`                                   ``__iter__``
-:class:`ItemsView`         :class:`MappingView`,                          ``__contains__``,
-                           :class:`Set`                                   ``__iter__``
-:class:`ValuesView`        :class:`MappingView`                           ``__contains__``, ``__iter__``
-=========================  =====================  ======================  ====================================================
-
-These ABCs allow us to ask classes or instances if they provide
-particular functionality, for example::
-
-    size = None
-    if isinstance(myvar, collections.Sized):
-        size = len(myvar)
-
-Several of the ABCs are also useful as mixins that make it easier to develop
-classes supporting container APIs.  For example, to write a class supporting
-the full :class:`Set` API, it only necessary to supply the three underlying
-abstract methods: :meth:`__contains__`, :meth:`__iter__`, and :meth:`__len__`.
-The ABC supplies the remaining methods such as :meth:`__and__` and
-:meth:`isdisjoint` ::
-
-    class ListBasedSet(collections.Set):
-         ''' Alternate set implementation favoring space over speed
-             and not requiring the set elements to be hashable. '''
-         def __init__(self, iterable):
-             self.elements = lst = []
-             for value in iterable:
-                 if value not in lst:
-                     lst.append(value)
-         def __iter__(self):
-             return iter(self.elements)
-         def __contains__(self, value):
-             return value in self.elements
-         def __len__(self):
-             return len(self.elements)
-
-    s1 = ListBasedSet('abcdef')
-    s2 = ListBasedSet('defghi')
-    overlap = s1 & s2            # The __and__() method is supported automatically
-
-Notes on using :class:`Set` and :class:`MutableSet` as a mixin:
-
-(1)
-   Since some set operations create new sets, the default mixin methods need
-   a way to create new instances from an iterable. The class constructor is
-   assumed to have a signature in the form ``ClassName(iterable)``.
-   That assumption is factored-out to an internal classmethod called
-   :meth:`_from_iterable` which calls ``cls(iterable)`` to produce a new set.
-   If the :class:`Set` mixin is being used in a class with a different
-   constructor signature, you will need to override :meth:`from_iterable`
-   with a classmethod that can construct new instances from
-   an iterable argument.
-
-(2)
-   To override the comparisons (presumably for speed, as the
-   semantics are fixed), redefine :meth:`__le__` and
-   then the other operations will automatically follow suit.
-
-(3)
-   The :class:`Set` mixin provides a :meth:`_hash` method to compute a hash value
-   for the set; however, :meth:`__hash__` is not defined because not all sets
-   are hashable or immutable.  To add set hashabilty using mixins,
-   inherit from both :meth:`Set` and :meth:`Hashable`, then define
-   ``__hash__ = Set._hash``.
-
-.. seealso::
-
-   * `OrderedSet recipe <http://code.activestate.com/recipes/576694/>`_ for an
-     example built on :class:`MutableSet`.
-
-   * For more about ABCs, see the :mod:`abc` module and :pep:`3119`.
+This module implements specialized container datatypes providing alternatives to
+Python's general purpose built-in containers, :class:`dict`, :class:`list`,
+:class:`set`, and :class:`tuple`.
+
+=====================   ====================================================================
+:func:`namedtuple`      factory function for creating tuple subclasses with named fields
+:class:`deque`          list-like container with fast appends and pops on either end
+:class:`Counter`        dict subclass for counting hashable objects
+:class:`OrderedDict`    dict subclass that remembers the order entries were added
+:class:`defaultdict`    dict subclass that calls a factory function to supply missing values
+:class:`UserDict`       wrapper around dictionary objects for easier dict subclassing
+:class:`UserList`       wrapper around list objects for easier list subclassing
+:class:`UserString`     wrapper around string objects for easier string subclassing
+=====================   ====================================================================
+
+In addition to the concrete container classes, the collections module provides
+ABCs (abstract base classes) that can be used to test whether a class provides a
+particular interface, for example, whether it is hashable or a mapping.
 
 
 :class:`Counter` objects
@@ -1036,3 +929,117 @@ attribute.
    be an instance of :class:`bytes`, :class:`str`, :class:`UserString` (or a
    subclass) or an arbitrary sequence which can be converted into a string using
    the built-in :func:`str` function.
+
+
+ABCs - abstract base classes
+----------------------------
+
+The collections module offers the following ABCs:
+
+=========================  =====================  ======================  ====================================================
+ABC                        Inherits               Abstract Methods        Mixin Methods
+=========================  =====================  ======================  ====================================================
+:class:`Container`                                ``__contains__``
+:class:`Hashable`                                 ``__hash__``
+:class:`Iterable`                                 ``__iter__``
+:class:`Iterator`          :class:`Iterable`      ``__next__``            ``__iter__``
+:class:`Sized`                                    ``__len__``
+:class:`Callable`                                 ``__call__``
+
+:class:`Sequence`          :class:`Sized`,        ``__getitem__``         ``__contains__``. ``__iter__``, ``__reversed__``.
+                           :class:`Iterable`,                             ``index``, and ``count``
+                           :class:`Container`
+
+:class:`MutableSequence`   :class:`Sequence`      ``__setitem__``         Inherited Sequence methods and
+                                                  ``__delitem__``,        ``append``, ``reverse``, ``extend``, ``pop``,
+                                                  and ``insert``          ``remove``, and ``__iadd__``
+
+:class:`Set`               :class:`Sized`,                                ``__le__``, ``__lt__``, ``__eq__``, ``__ne__``,
+                           :class:`Iterable`,                             ``__gt__``, ``__ge__``, ``__and__``, ``__or__``
+                           :class:`Container`                             ``__sub__``, ``__xor__``, and ``isdisjoint``
+
+:class:`MutableSet`        :class:`Set`           ``add`` and             Inherited Set methods and
+                                                  ``discard``             ``clear``, ``pop``, ``remove``, ``__ior__``,
+                                                                          ``__iand__``, ``__ixor__``, and ``__isub__``
+
+:class:`Mapping`           :class:`Sized`,        ``__getitem__``         ``__contains__``, ``keys``, ``items``, ``values``,
+                           :class:`Iterable`,                             ``get``, ``__eq__``, and ``__ne__``
+                           :class:`Container`
+
+:class:`MutableMapping`    :class:`Mapping`       ``__setitem__`` and     Inherited Mapping methods and
+                                                  ``__delitem__``         ``pop``, ``popitem``, ``clear``, ``update``,
+                                                                          and ``setdefault``
+
+
+:class:`MappingView`       :class:`Sized`                                 ``__len__``
+:class:`KeysView`          :class:`MappingView`,                          ``__contains__``,
+                           :class:`Set`                                   ``__iter__``
+:class:`ItemsView`         :class:`MappingView`,                          ``__contains__``,
+                           :class:`Set`                                   ``__iter__``
+:class:`ValuesView`        :class:`MappingView`                           ``__contains__``, ``__iter__``
+=========================  =====================  ======================  ====================================================
+
+These ABCs allow us to ask classes or instances if they provide
+particular functionality, for example::
+
+    size = None
+    if isinstance(myvar, collections.Sized):
+        size = len(myvar)
+
+Several of the ABCs are also useful as mixins that make it easier to develop
+classes supporting container APIs.  For example, to write a class supporting
+the full :class:`Set` API, it only necessary to supply the three underlying
+abstract methods: :meth:`__contains__`, :meth:`__iter__`, and :meth:`__len__`.
+The ABC supplies the remaining methods such as :meth:`__and__` and
+:meth:`isdisjoint` ::
+
+    class ListBasedSet(collections.Set):
+         ''' Alternate set implementation favoring space over speed
+             and not requiring the set elements to be hashable. '''
+         def __init__(self, iterable):
+             self.elements = lst = []
+             for value in iterable:
+                 if value not in lst:
+                     lst.append(value)
+         def __iter__(self):
+             return iter(self.elements)
+         def __contains__(self, value):
+             return value in self.elements
+         def __len__(self):
+             return len(self.elements)
+
+    s1 = ListBasedSet('abcdef')
+    s2 = ListBasedSet('defghi')
+    overlap = s1 & s2            # The __and__() method is supported automatically
+
+Notes on using :class:`Set` and :class:`MutableSet` as a mixin:
+
+(1)
+   Since some set operations create new sets, the default mixin methods need
+   a way to create new instances from an iterable. The class constructor is
+   assumed to have a signature in the form ``ClassName(iterable)``.
+   That assumption is factored-out to an internal classmethod called
+   :meth:`_from_iterable` which calls ``cls(iterable)`` to produce a new set.
+   If the :class:`Set` mixin is being used in a class with a different
+   constructor signature, you will need to override :meth:`from_iterable`
+   with a classmethod that can construct new instances from
+   an iterable argument.
+
+(2)
+   To override the comparisons (presumably for speed, as the
+   semantics are fixed), redefine :meth:`__le__` and
+   then the other operations will automatically follow suit.
+
+(3)
+   The :class:`Set` mixin provides a :meth:`_hash` method to compute a hash value
+   for the set; however, :meth:`__hash__` is not defined because not all sets
+   are hashable or immutable.  To add set hashabilty using mixins,
+   inherit from both :meth:`Set` and :meth:`Hashable`, then define
+   ``__hash__ = Set._hash``.
+
+.. seealso::
+
+   * `OrderedSet recipe <http://code.activestate.com/recipes/576694/>`_ for an
+     example built on :class:`MutableSet`.
+
+   * For more about ABCs, see the :mod:`abc` module and :pep:`3119`.