Python Sets

Sets are an unordered collection of unique elements in Python. They are useful for removing duplicates and performing mathematical operations like union and intersection.

Creating a Set

# Creating a set
fruits = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}
print(fruits)
        

Adding and Removing Elements

favorites = {"chocolate", "vanilla"}

# Adding an element
favorites.add("strawberry")

# Removing an element
favorites.remove("vanilla")

print(favorites)
        

Set Operations

a = {1, 2, 3, 4}
b = {3, 4, 5, 6}

print(a | b)  # Union
print(a & b)  # Intersection
print(a - b)  # Difference
print(a ^ b)  # Symmetric Difference
        

Checking Membership

numbers = {10, 20, 30, 40}
if 20 in numbers:
    print("20 is in the set")
        

Looping Through a Set

colors = {"red", "green", "blue"}
for color in colors:
    print(color)
        

Converting a List to a Set

numbers = [1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5]
unique_numbers = set(numbers)
print(unique_numbers)  # Output: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}
        

Set Methods

names = {"Alice", "Bob", "Charlie"}
names.update(["David", "Eve"])
names.discard("Alice")
print(names)
        

Conclusion

Sets are powerful for handling unique values and performing fast operations. They are widely used in data processing and mathematical computations.