title: differences between "d.clear()" and "d={}"
body: <p>On my machine, the execution speed between <code>d.clear()</code> and <code>d={}</code> is over 100ns so am curious why one would use one over the other.</p>
  
  <pre><code>import timeit
  
  def timing():
      d = dict()
  
  if __name__=='__main__':
      t = timeit.Timer('timing()', 'from __main__ import timing')
      print t.repeat()
  </code></pre>