Python Sets


 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.
 Some more
definitions

 Sets are used to store multiple items in a single
variable.
 Set is one of 4 built-in data types in Python used to
store collections of data, the other 3 are List, Tuple,
and Dictionary, all with different qualities and
usage.
 A set is a collection which
is unordered, unchangeable*, and unindexed.
 * Note: Set items are unchangeable, but you can
remove items and add new items.
 Sets are written with curly brackets.
 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.
 It 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.
 Example

# Different types of sets in Python
# set of integers
my_set = {1, 2, 3}
print(my_set)

# set of mixed datatypes

my_set = {1.0, "Hello", (1, 2, 3)}
print(my_set)

 Output
{1, 2, 3}
{1.0, (1, 2, 3), 'Hello'}
 Set Items
 Set items are unordered, unchangeable, and do not allow
duplicate values.
 Unordered


 Unordered means that the items in a set do not have a defined
order.
 Set items can appear in a different order every time you use
them, and cannot be referred to by index or key.
 Unchangeable
 Set items are unchangeable, meaning that we cannot change the
items after the set has been created.
 Once a set is created, you cannot change its items, but you can
remove items and add new items.
 Duplicates Not Allowed
 Sets cannot have two items with the same value.

 Example(Duplicate values will be ignored)

thisset = {"apple", "banana", "cherry", "apple"}
print(thisset)
Output:
Set Methods


 Get the Length of a Set
 To determine how many items a set has, use
the len() method.
Example:


thisset = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}
print(len(thisset))
Output:
3
 Set Items - Data Types
 Set items can be of any data type: String, int
and boolean data types:
Example:
set1 = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}
set2 = {1, 5, 7, 9, 3}
set3 = {True, False, False}
 A set can contain different data types:
A set with strings, integers and boolean values:
set1 = {"abc", 34, True, 40, "male"}
 type()
 From Python's perspective, sets are defined as objects with
the data type 'set': <class 'set'>


 What is the data type of a set?
Example:
thisset = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}
print(type(thisset))
Output:
<class 'set'>
 The set() Constructor
 It is also possible to use the set() constructor to make a set.
 Using the set() constructor to make a set:
Example:
thisset = set(("apple", "banana", "cherry"))
# note the double round-brackets
print(thisset)
Output:
{'banana', 'cherry', 'apple'}
 Modifying a set in
Python

 add() – to add single element to the set
 update() – to add multiple elements to the set
 Note:
 The update() method can take tuples, lists, strings
or other sets as its argument.
 In all cases, duplicates are avoided.
# initialize my_set
my_set = {1, 3}
print(my_set)

# add an element
my_set.add(2)
print(my_set) 
# add multiple elements
my_set.update([2, 3, 4])
print(my_set)

# add list and set

my_set.update([4, 5], {1, 6, 8})
print(my_set)

Output
{1, 3}
{1, 2, 3}
{1, 2, 3, 4}
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8}
 Removing elements from
a set

 discard() and remove()- to remove particular
element

 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() function will raise an
error in such a condition (if element is not
present in the set).
# initialize my_set
my_set = {1, 3, 4, 5, 6}
print(my_set)
# discard an element
my_set.discard(4)


print(my_set)
# remove an element
my_set.remove(6)
print(my_set))
# discard an element not present in my_set
my_set.discard(2)
print(my_set))
# remove an element not present in my_set you will get an error.
my_set.remove(2)

Output

{1, 3, 4, 5, 6}
{1, 3, 5, 6}
{1, 3, 5}
{1, 3, 5}
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "<string>", line 28, in <module>
KeyError: 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.
 We can also remove all the items from a set using the clear() method.

# initialize my_set
my_set = set("HelloWorld")
print(my_set)
# pop an element # Output: random element

print(my_set.pop())
# pop another element
my_set.pop()
print(my_set)
# clear my_set
my_set.clear()
print(my_set)

print(my_set)

Output

{'H', 'l', 'r', 'W', 'o', 'd', 'e'}

H
{'r', 'W', 'o', 'd', 'e'}
set()
Python Set
Operations

 Set Operations
 Set Union-Union is performed


using | operator. Same can be accomplished
using the union() method.
 Set Intersection-Intersection is performed
using & operator. Same can be accomplished
using the intersection() method.
 Set Difference-Difference is performed
using - operator. Same can be accomplished
using the difference() method.
 Set Symmetric Difference-Symmetric
difference is performed using ^ operator.
Same can be accomplished using the
method symmetric_difference().
Set Union Set Intersection
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8} B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
print(A | B)
Output

print(A & B)
Output
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} {4, 5}
# use intersection
# use union function function on A
>>> A.union(B) >>> A.intersection(B)
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} {4, 5}
# use union function # use intersection
on B function on B
>>> B.union(A) >>> B.intersection(A)
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8} {4, 5}
Set Difference Set Symmetric
A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5} Difference
B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8} A = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}


print(A - B) B = {4, 5, 6, 7, 8}
Output
print(A ^ B)
{1, 2, 3}
Output
# use difference function {1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8}
on A
>>> A.difference(B) # use symmetric_difference
{1, 2, 3} function on A
>>>
# use - operator on B
A.symmetric_difference(B) {1,
>>> B - A 2, 3, 6, 7, 8}
{8, 6, 7} # use symmetric_difference
# use difference function on B
function on B >>>
>>> B.difference(A) B.symmetric_difference(A) {1,
{8, 6, 7} 2, 3, 6, 7, 8}
Other Set
Operations


 Set Membership Test


 We can test if an item exists in a set or not, using the in keyword.
# in keyword in a set # initialize my_set
my_set = set("apple")

# check if 'a' is present

print('a' in my_set)

# check if 'p' is present

print('p' not in my_set)

 Output
True
False
 Iterating Through a Set


 We can iterate through each item in a set
using a for loop

>>> for letter in set("apple"):

... print(letter)
... a
p
e
l
 Built-in Functions with
Set

Function Description

Returns True if all elements of the set are true (or if the set is
all() empty).

Returns True if any element of the set is true. If the set is

any() empty, returns False.

Returns an enumerate object. It contains the index and value

enumerate for all the items of the set as a pair.
()
len() Returns the length (the number of items) in the set.

max() Returns the largest item in the set.

min() Returns the smallest item in the set.

Returns a new sorted list from elements in the set(does not

sorted() sort the set itself).

sum() Returns the sum of all elements in the set.

Python Frozenset


 Frozenset is a new class that has the characteristics of a set.
 Frozensets are immutable sets.
 Frozensets can be created using the frozenset() function.
 This data type supports methods


like copy(), difference(), intersection(), isdisjoint(), issubset(),
issuperset(), symmetric_difference() and union().

 Example:

# Frozensets # initialize A and B

>>> A = frozenset([1, 2, 3, 4])
>>> B = frozenset([3, 4, 5, 6])
>>> A.isdisjoint(B)
False
>>> A.difference(B)
frozenset({1, 2})
>>> A | B
frozenset({1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6})
>>> A.add(3)
... AttributeError: 'frozenset' object has no attribute 'add'