Problem Formulation
Given a set of elements. If you print the list to the shell using print({1, 2, 3}), the output is enclosed in curly brackets (braces) like so: {1, 2, 3}. But you want the set without brackets like so: 1, 2, 3.
print({1, 2, 3})
# Output: {1, 2, 3}
# Desired: 1, 2, 3How to print the set without enclosing brackets?
Method 1: Unpacking
The asterisk operator * is used to unpack an iterable into the argument list of a given function. You can unpack all set elements into the print() function to print each of them individually. Per default, all print arguments are separated by an empty space. For example, the expression print(*my_set) will print the elements in my_set, empty-space separated, without the enclosing square brackets!
my_set = {1, 2, 3}
print(*my_set)
# Output: 1 2 3To master the basics of unpacking, feel free to check out this video on the asterisk operator:
Method 2: Unpacking with Separator
To print a comma-separated set without enclosing curly brackets, the most Pythonic way is to unpack all set values into the print() function and use the sep=', ' argument to separate the set elements with a comma and a space. Specifically, the expression print(*my_set, sep=', ') will print the set elements without brackets and with a comma between subsequent set elements.
my_set = {1, 2, 3}
print(*my_set, sep=', ')
# Output: 1, 2, 3You can learn about the ins and outs of the built-in print() function in the following video:
Method 3: Slicing String Representation
Slicing is a concise way to access a subsequence from an original sequence. You can use slicing on the string representation of a set to access all characters except the first and last ones—that are the curly bracket, or braces, characters. For example, the expression print(str({1, 2, 3})[1:-1]) prints the list as "1, 2, 3" without enclosing square brackets.
my_set = {1, 2, 3}
print(str(my_set)[1:-1])
# Output: 1, 2, 3Feel free to dive into slicing next to boost your coding skills:
Method 4: String Join With Generator Expression
You can print a set without brackets by combining the string.join() method on the separator string ', ' with a generator expression to convert each set element to a string using the str() built-in function. Specifially, the expression print(', '.join(str(x) for x in my_set)) prints my_set to the shell without enclosing brackets.
my_set = {1, 2, 3}
print(', '.join(str(x) for x in my_set))
# Output: 1, 2, 3You can modify the separator string on which you join to customize the appearance of the set:
my_set = {1, 2, 3}
print('-'.join(str(x) for x in my_set))
# Output: 1-2-3- The
string.join(iterable)method concatenates the elements in the given iterable. - The
str(object)built-in function converts a given object to its string representation. - Generator expressions or list comprehensions are concise one-liner ways to create a new iterable based by reusing elements from another iterable.
You can dive deeper into generators in the following video:
Where to Go From Here?
Enough theory. Let’s get some practice!
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