The set data structure is one of the most underused primary data structures in Python. I’ve seen so many intermediate-level coders who use lists when all they need is a data structure that checks membership!! ? Understanding the basics differentiates the good from the great. In this tutorial, you’ll learn about Python’s basic set methods. First, … Read more
Python’s S.symmetric_difference(T) method creates and returns a new set containing all elements that are in exactly one of the two sets S and T. Here’s a minimal example where we return a new set containing the elements 1 and 4 that are in exactly one of the two sets s and t. Here’s another visual … Read more
Python’s set.remove(x) method removes an element x from this set if it is a member, otherwise it raises a KeyError. Here’s a minimal example where you remove the string element ‘Bob’ from the set by means of the s.remove() method: Syntax Let’s dive into the formal syntax of the set.remove() method. set.remove(element) Argument Data Type … Read more
This article gives you everything you need to know about sets in Python. To make it a bit more fun, I have used Harry Potter examples throughout the article. What is a Python Set? The set data structure is one of the basic collection data types in Python and many other programming languages. In fact, … Read more
Python’s set.clear() method removes all elements from this set. All variables that refer to this set object will refer to an empty set after calling the method. Here’s a minimal example where you remove three elements from a set at once by means of the s.clear() method: Syntax Let’s “dive” into the formal syntax of … Read more
Python’s set.copy() method creates and returns a flat copy of this set. Here’s a minimal example where you copy a set with two integers and a string value: Syntax Let’s dive into the formal syntax of the set.copy() method. set.copy() Argument Data Type Explanation – – – The set.copy() method doesn’t take any argument. If … Read more
Python’s set.difference(sets) method creates and returns a new set containing all elements of this set, except the ones in the given set argument or arguments. The resulting set has at most as many elements as this set. Here’s a minimal example where we return a new set with the elements from an existing set after … Read more
Python’s set.difference_update(*args) method removes all elements from this set that are members of any of the given set arguments. For example, s.difference_update({1, 2}) removes elements 1 and 2 from the set s. Its return value is None because it modifies the set it is called upon rather than creating a new set. Here’s a minimal … Read more
Python’s set.discard(x) method removes an element x from this set if it is a member. Otherwise does nothing. Here’s a minimal example where you remove the string element ‘Bob’ from the set by means of the s.discard() method: Syntax Let’s “dive” into the formal syntax of the set.discard() method. set.discard(element) Argument Data Type Explanation element … Read more
Python’s set.intersection(sets) creates and returns a new set consisting of the elements that are members of all sets — this and the set argument(s). The resulting set has at most as many elements as any other set given in the argument list. Here’s a minimal example that creates a new set arising from the intersection … Read more
Python’s set.isdisjoint(set) returns True if no element from this set is a member of the specified set. Sets are disjoint if and only if their intersection is the empty set. Here’s a minimal example that checks whether sets s and t are disjoint: Syntax Let’s dive into the formal syntax of the set.isdisjoint() method. set.isdisjoint(set) … Read more
Python’s set.issubset(set) returns True if all elements of this set are members of the specified set argument. It determines whether the set on which the method is called is the subset of the specified set. Here’s a minimal example that checks whether sets s is a subset of t: Another minimal Harry Potter example: Syntax … Read more