PythonDay 8 of #100DaysOfCode in Python: Unraveling the World of Sets

Welcome to Day 8 of the #100DaysOfCode in Python! You’ve already embarked on a significant journey, uncovering various Python constructs, from basic variables and data types to lists and dictionaries. Today, we venture into another essential data structure — sets.

Introduction to Sets

A set is a collection of distinct elements, similar to mathematical sets. It’s akin to a dictionary with keys but no values or a list with no duplicate elements. It’s inherently unordered, meaning the elements don’t have a specific order.

Creating a Set

Creating a set is as simple as enclosing the elements within curly braces {} or using the set() constructor.

# Using curly braces
fruits = {"apple", "banana", "cherry"}

# Using set constructor
colors = set(["red", "green", "blue"])

Note: An empty set must be created using the set() constructor as {} will create an empty dictionary.

Unique Features of Sets

1. Uniqueness: Sets automatically eliminate duplicate values.
2. Unordered: The set elements don’t have an index and are unordered.

Manipulating Sets