Python Sets
A set is a collection of unique data, meaning that elements within a set
cannot be duplicated.
For instance, if we need to store information about student IDs, a set is
suitable since student IDs cannot have duplicates.
Create a Set in Python
In Python, we create sets by placing all the elements inside curly braces
{}, separated by commas.
A set can have any number of items and they may be of different types
(integer, float, tuple, string, etc.). But a set cannot have mutable
elements like lists, sets or dictionaries as its elements.
Let's see an example,
# create a set of integer type
student_id = {112, 114, 116, 118, 115}
print('Student ID:', student_id)
# create a set of string type
vowel_letters = {'a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u'}
print('Vowel Letters:', vowel_letters)
# create a set of mixed data types
mixed_set = {'Hello', 101, -2, 'Bye'}
print('Set of mixed data types:', mixed_set)
In the above example, we have created different types of sets by
placing all the elements inside the curly braces {}.
Note: When you run this code, you might get output in a different
order. This is because the set has no particular order.
Create an Empty Set in Python
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. For example,
# create an empty set
empty_set = set()
# create an empty dictionary
empty_dictionary = { }
# check data type of empty_set
print('Data type of empty_set:', type(empty_set))
# check data type of dictionary_set
print('Data type of empty_dictionary:', type(empty_dictionary))
Here,
empty_set - an empty set created using set()
empty_dictionary - an empty dictionary created using {}
Finally, we have used the type() function to know which class
empty_set and empty_dictionary belong to.
Duplicate Items in a Set
Let's see what will happen if we try to include duplicate items in a set.
numbers = {2, 4, 6, 6, 2, 8}
print(numbers) # {8, 2, 4, 6}
Here, we can see there are no duplicate items in the set as a set cannot
contain duplicates.
Add and Update Set Items in Python
Sets are mutable. However, since they are unordered, indexing has no
meaning.
We cannot access or change an element of a set using indexing or
slicing. The set data type does not support it.
Add Items to a Set in Python
In Python, we use the add() method to add an item to a set. For
example,
numbers = {21, 34, 54, 12}
print('Initial Set:',numbers)
# using add() method
numbers.add(32)
print('Updated Set:', numbers)
Update Python Set
The update() method is used to update the set with items other
collection types (lists, tuples, sets, etc). For example,
companies = {'Lacoste', 'Ralph Lauren'}
tech_companies = ['apple', 'google', 'apple']
# using update() method
companies.update(tech_companies)
print(companies)
# Output: {'google', 'apple', 'Lacoste', 'Ralph Lauren'}
Here, all the unique elements of tech_companies are added to the
companies set.
Remove an Element from a Set
We use the discard() method to remove the specified element from a
set. For example,
languages = {'Swift', 'Java', 'Python'}
print('Initial Set:',languages)
# remove 'Java' from a set
removedValue = languages.discard('Java')
print('Set after remove():', languages)
Here, we have used the discard() method to remove 'Java' from the
languages set.
Built-in Functions with Set
Here are some of the popular built-in functions that allow us to perform
different operations on a set.
Iterate Over a Set in Python
fruits = {"Apple", "Peach", "Mango"}
# for loop to access each fruits
for fruit in fruits:
print(fruit)
Find Number of Set Elements
We can use the len() method to find the number of elements present in
a Set. For example,
even_numbers = {2,4,6,8}
print('Set:',even_numbers)
# find number of elements
print('Total Elements:', len(even_numbers))
Here, we have used the len() method to find the number of elements
present in a Set.
Python Set Operations
Python Set provides different built-in methods to perform mathematical
set operations like union, intersection, subtraction, and symmetric
difference.
Union of Two Sets
The union of two sets A and B includes all the elements of sets A and B.
We use the | operator or the union() method to perform the set union
operation. For example,
# first set
A = {1, 3, 5}
# second set
B = {0, 2, 4}
# perform union operation using |
print('Union using |:', A | B)
# perform union operation using union()
print('Union using union():', A.union(B))
Note: A|B and union() is equivalent to A ⋃ B set operation.
Set Intersection
The intersection of two sets A and B include the common elements
between set A and B.
In Python, we use the & operator or the intersection() method to
perform the set intersection operation. For example,
# first set
A = {1, 3, 5}
# second set
B = {1, 2, 3}
# perform intersection operation using &
print('Intersection using &:', A & B)
# perform intersection operation using intersection()
print('Intersection using intersection():', A.intersection(B))
Note: A&B and intersection() is equivalent to A ⋂ B set operation.
Difference between Two Sets
The difference between two sets A and B include elements of set A that
are not present on set B
We use the - operator or the difference() method to perform the
difference between two sets. For example,
# first set
A = {2, 3, 5}
# second set
B = {1, 2, 6}
# perform difference operation using &
print('Difference using &:', A - B)
# perform difference operation using difference()
print('Difference using difference():', A.difference(B))
Note: A - B and A.difference(B) is equivalent to A - B set operation.
