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Python Sets
A set is an unordered collection of items. Every set element is unique (no duplicates) and
must be immutable (cannot be changed).
However, a set itself is mutable. We can add or remove items from it.
Sets can also be used to perform mathematical set operations like union, intersection,
symmetric difference, etc.
Creating Python Sets
A set is created by placing all the items (elements) inside curly braces { },
separated by comma, or by using the built-in set() function.
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It can have any number of items and they may be of different types (integer,
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float, tuple, string etc.). But a set cannot have mutable elements like lists, sets
or dictionaries as its elements.
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# Different types of sets in Python
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# set of integers
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my_set = {1, 2, 3}
print(my_set)
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# set of mixed datatypes
my_set = {1.0, "Hello", (1, 2, 3)}
print(my_set)
Creating an empty set is a bit tricky.
Empty curly braces { } will make an empty dictionary in Python. To
make a set without any elements, we use the set ( ) function without
any argument.
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# Distinguish set and dictionary while creating empty set
# initialize a with {}
a = {}
# check data type of a
print(type(a))
# initialize a with set()
a = set()
# check data type of a
print(type(a))
Modifying a set in Python
Sets are mutable. However, since they are unordered, indexing has no meaning.
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We cannot access or change an element of a set using indexing or slicing. Set data type does not
support it. e.
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We can add a single element using the add ( ) method, and multiple elements using the update ( )
method. The update ( ) method can take tuples, lists, strings or other sets as its argument. In all
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cases, duplicates are avoided.
# initialize my_set
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my_set = {1, 3}
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print(my_set)
# my_set[0]
# if you uncomment the above line
# you will get an error
# TypeError: 'set' object does not support indexing
# add an element
# Output: {1, 2, 3}
my_set.add(2)
print(my_set)
# add multiple elements
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# Output: {1, 2, 3, 4}
my_set.update([2, 3, 4])
print(my_set)
# add list and set
# Output: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8}
my_set.update([4, 5], {1, 6, 8})
print(my_set)
Removing elements from a set
A particular item can be removed from a set using the methods discard ( ) and remove ( )
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The only difference between the two is that the discard ( ) function leaves a set
unchanged if the element is not present in the set. On the other hand, the remove ( )
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function will raise an error in such a condition (if element is not present in the set).
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The following example will illustrate this.
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# Difference between discard() and remove()
# initialize my_set
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my_set = {1, 3, 4, 5, 6}
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print(my_set)
# discard an element
# Output: {1, 3, 5, 6}
my_set.discard(4)
print(my_set)
# remove an element
# Output: {1, 3, 5}
my_set.remove(6)
print(my_set)
# discard an element
# not present in my_set
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# Output: {1, 3, 5}
my_set.discard(2)
print(my_set)
# remove an element
# not present in my_set
# you will get an error.
# Output: KeyError
my_set.remove(2)
Similarly, we can remove and return an item using the pop ( ) method.
Since set is an unordered data type, there is no way of determining which item will be popped. It is
completely arbitrary.
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We can also remove all the items from a set using the clear ( ) method
# initialize my_set
# Output: set of unique elements
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my_set = set("HelloWorld")
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print(my_set)
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# pop an element
# Output: random element
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print(my_set.pop())
# pop another element
my_set.pop()
print(my_set)
# clear my_set
# Output: set()
my_set.clear()
print(my_set)
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Python Set Operations
Sets can be used to carry out mathematical set operations like union, intersection,
difference and symmetric difference. We can do this with operators or methods.
Let us consider the following two sets for the following operations.
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
Set Union
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Set Union in Python
Union of A and B is a set of all elements from both sets.
Union is performed using | operator. Same can be accomplished using the union method.
# Set union method
# initialize A and B
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
# use | operator
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# Output: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
print(A | B)
Output
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
Set Intersection
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Set Intersection in Python
Intersection of A and B is a set of elements that are common in both the sets
Intersection is performed using & operator. Same can be accomplished using the Intersection ( )
method
# Intersection of sets
# initialize A and B
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
# use & operator
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# Output: {4, 5}
print(A & B)
Output
{ 4, 5 }
Set Difference
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Set Difference in Python
Difference of the set B from set A (A-B) is a set of elements that are only in A but not in B.
Similarly, B-A is a set of elements in B but not in A.
Difference is performed using – operator. Same can be accomplished using the difference ( ) method.
# Difference of two sets
# initialize A and B
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
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B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
# use - operator on A
# Output: {1, 2, 3}
print(A - B )
Output
{1, 2, 3}
Set Symmetric Difference
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Set Symmetric Difference in python
Symmetric Difference of A and B is a set of elements in A and B but not in both (excluding the
intersection).
Symmetric difference is performed using ^ operator. Same can be accomplished using the method
symmetric_difference ( )
# Symmetric difference of two sets
# initialize A and B
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A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
# use ^ operator
# Output: {1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8}
print(A ^ B)
Output
{1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8}
Other Python Set Methods
There are many set methods, some of which we have already used above. Here is a list of
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all the methods that are available with the set objects:
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Other Set Operations
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Set Membership Test
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We can test if an item exists in a set or not, using the in keyword
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# in keyword in a set
# initialize my_set
my_set = set("apple")
# check if 'a' is present
# Output: True
print('a' in my_set)
# check if 'p' is present
# Output: False
print('p' not in my_set)
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Iterating Through a Set
We can iterate through each item in a set using a for loop
for letter in set (“apple”):
print(letter)
Output
a
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Python Frozenset
Frozenset is a new class that has the characteristics of a set, but its elements cannot be
changed once assigned. While tuples are immutable lists, frozensets are immutable sets.
Sets being mutable are unhashable, so they can't be used as dictionary keys. On the other
hand, frozensets are hashable and can be used as keys to a dictionary.
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Frozensets can be created using the frozenset() function.
This data type supports methods like: copy(),difference(),intersection(),isdisjoint(),issubset(),
issuperset(),symmetric_difference(), and union(). Being immutable, it does not have methods
that add or remove elements.
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