RE: [Python-Dev] The memo of pickle

[Martin v. Loewis]

It's not a matter of beliefs: each dictionary entry contributes 12 bytes. Each integer key contributes 12 bytes, each integer position contributes 12 bytes. Each tuple contributes 36 bytes.

I'm not in love with giant pickle memos myself, but to reduce expectations closer to reality, note that each dict entry consumes at least 18 bytes (we keep the load factor under 2/3, so there's at least one unused entry for every two real entries; it's an indirect overhead, but a real one).