Python Set and Booleans with

Syntax and Examples 👻 (by pranav sirsufale)

What are Sets in Python?

First, we focus on Python sets. A set in Python holds a sequence of values. It is
sequenced but does not support indexing.

We will understand that as we get deeper into the article with the Python set
Examples.

1. Creating a Python Set

To declare a set, you need to type a sequence of items separated by commas,
inside curly braces. After that, assign it to a Python variable.

>>> a={1,3,2}

As you can see, we wrote it in the order 1, 3, 2. In point b, we will access this
set and see what we get back.

A set may contain values of different types.

>>> c={1,2.0,'three'}

a. Duplicate Elements
A set also cannot contain duplicate elements. Let’s try adding duplicate
elements to another set, and then access it in point b.

>>> b={3,2,1,2}

b. Mutability
A set is mutable, but may not contain mutable items like a list, set, or even a
dictionary.
>>> d={[1,2,3],4}

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#9>”, line 1, in
<module>d={[1,2,3],4}

TypeError: unhashable type: ‘list’

As we discussed, there is no such thing as a nested Python set.

>>> d={{1,3,2},4}

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#10>”, line 1, in <module>

d={{1,3,2},4}

TypeError: unhashable type: ‘set’

c. The Python set() function

You can also create a set with the set() function.

>>> d=set()
>>> type(d)

Output
<class ‘set’>

This creates an empty set object. Remember that if you declare an empty set as
the following code, it is an empty dictionary, not an empty set. We confirm
this using the type() function.

>>> d={}
>>> type(d)

Output
<class ‘dict’>

The set() function may also take one argument, however. It should be an
iterable, like a list.
>>> d=set([1,3,2])

2. Accessing a Set in Python

Since sets in Python do not support indexing, it is only possible to access the
entire set at once. Let’s try accessing the sets from point a.

>>> a

Output
{1, 2, 3}

Did you see how it reordered the elements into an ascending order? Now let’s
try accessing the set c.

>>> c

Output
{1, 2.0, ‘three’}

Finally, let’s access set b.

>>> b

Output
{1, 2, 3}

As you can see, we had two 2s when we declared the set, but now we have only
one, and it automatically reordered the set.

Also, since sets do not support indexing, they cannot be sliced. Let’s try slicing
one.

>>> b[1:]

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#26>”, line 1, in <module>

b[1:]

TypeError: ‘set’ object is not subscriptable

As you can see in the error, a set object is not subscriptable.

3. Deleting a Set in Python
Again, because a set isn’t indexed, you can’t delete an element using its index.
So for this, you must use one the following methods.

A method must be called on a set, and it may alter the set. For the following
examples, let’s take a set called numbers.

>>> numbers={3,2,1,4,6,5}
>>> numbers

Output
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}

a. discard()
This method takes the item to delete as an argument.

>>> numbers.discard(3)
>>> numbers

Output
{1, 2, 4, 5, 6}

As you can see in the resulting set, the item 3 has been removed.

b. remove()
Like the discard() method, remove() deletes an item from the set.

>>> numbers.remove(5)
>>> numbers

Output
{1, 2, 4, 6}

 discard() vs remove()-
These two methods may appear the same to you, but there’s actually a
difference.
If you try deleting an item that doesn’t exist in the set, discard() ignores it, but
remove() raises a KeyError.

>>> numbers.discard(7)
>>> numbers

Output
{1, 2, 4, 6}

>>> numbers.remove(7)

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#37>”, line 1, in <module>

numbers.remove(7)

KeyError: 7

c. pop()
Like on a dictionary, you can call the pop() method on a set. However, here, it
does not take an argument.

Because a set doesn’t support indexing, there is absolutely no way to pass an

index to the pop method. Hence, it pops out an arbitrary item.

Furthermore, it prints out the item that was popped.

>>> numbers.pop()

Output
1

Let’s try popping anot/her element.

>>> numbers.pop()

Output
2

Let’s try it on another set as well.

>>> {2,1,3}.pop()
Output
1

d. clear()
Like the pop method(), the clear() method for a dictionary can be applied to a
Python set as well. It empties the set in Python.

>>> numbers.clear()
>>> numbers

Output
set()

As you can see, it denoted an empty set as set(), not as {}.

4. Updating a Set in Python

As we discussed, a Python set is mutable. But as we have seen earlier, we can’t
use indices to reassign it.

>>> numbers={3,1,2,4,6,5}
>>> numbers[3]

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#56>”, line 1, in <module>

numbers[3]

TypeError: ‘set’ object does not support indexing

So, we use two methods for this purpose- add() and update(). We have seen
the update() method on tuples, lists, and strings.

a. add()
It takes as argument the item to be added to the set.

>>> numbers.add(3.5)
>>> numbers

Output
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3.5}

If you add an existing item in the set, the set remains unaffected.

>>> numbers.add(4)
>>> numbers

Output
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3.5}

b. update()
This method can add multiple items to the set at once, which it takes as
arguments.

>>> numbers.update([7,8],{1,2,9})
>>> numbers

Output
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3.5, 7, 8, 9}

As is visible, we could provide a list and a set as arguments to this. This is

because this is different than creating a set.

5. Python Functions on Sets

A function is something that you can apply to a Python set, and it performs
operations on it and returns a value. Let’s talk about some of the functions
that a set supports.

We’ll take a new set for exemplary purposes.

>>> days={'Monday','Tuesday','Wednesday','Thursday','Friday','Saturday','Sunday'}

a. len()
The len() function returns the length of a set. This is the number of elements
in it.

>>> len(days)
Output
7

b. max()
This function returns the item from the set with the highest value.

>>> max({3,1,2})

Output
3

We can make such a comparison on strings as well.

>>> max(days)

Output
‘Wednesday’

The Python function returned ‘Wednesday’ because W has the highest ASCII
value among M, T, W, F, and S.

But we cannot compare values of different types.

>>> max({1,2,'three','Three'})

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#69>”, line 1, in <module>

max({1,2,’three’,’Three’})

TypeError: ‘>’ not supported between instances of ‘str’ and ‘int’

c. min()
Like the max() function, the min() function returns the item in the Python set
with the lowest value.

>>> min(days)

Output
‘Friday’
This is because F has the lowest ASCII value among M, T, W, F, and S.

d. sum()
The sum() functionin Python set returns the arithmetic sum of all the items in
a set.

>>> sum({1,2,3})

Output
6

However, you can’t apply it to a set that contains strings.

>>> sum(days)

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#72>”, line 1, in <module>

sum(days)

TypeError: unsupported operand type(s) for +: ‘int’ and ‘str’

e. any()
This function returns True even if one item in the set has a Boolean value of
True.

>>> any({0})

Output
False

>>> any({0,'0'})

Output
True

It returns True because the string ‘0’ has a Boolean value of True.

f. all()
Unlike the any() function, all() returns True only if all items in the Python set
have a Boolean value of True. Otherwise, it returns False.

>>> all({0,'0'})

Output
False

>>> all(days)

Output
True

g. sorted()
The sorted() function returns a sorted python set to list. It is sorted in
ascending order, but it doesn’t modify the original set.

>>> numbers={1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 3.5}

>>> sorted(numbers)

Output
[1, 2, 3, 3.5, 4, 5, 6]

6. Python Methods on Sets

Unlike a function in Python set, a method may alter a set. It performs a
sequence on operations on a set, and must be called on it.

So far, we have learned about the methods add(), clear(), discard(), pop(),
remove(), and update(). Now, we will see more methods from a more
mathematical point of view.

a. union()
This method performs the union operation on two or more Python sets. What
it does is it returns all the items that are in any of those sets.
 Union in Python Set

>>> set1,set2,set3={1,2,3},{3,4,5},{5,6,7}
>>> set1.union(set2,set3)

Output
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7}

>>> set1

Output
{1, 2, 3}

As you can see, it did not alter set1. A method does not always alter a set in
Python.

b. intersection()
This method takes as argument sets, and returns the common items in all the
sets.
 Intersection Set in Python

>>> set2.intersection(set1)

Output
{3}

Let’s intersect all three sets.

>>> set2.intersection(set1,set3)

Output
set()

It returned an empty set because these three sets have nothing in common.

c. difference()
The difference() method returns the difference of two or more sets. It returns
as a set.
 Difference Python Set

>>> set1.difference(set2)

Output
{1, 2}

This returns the items that are in set1, but not in set2.

>>> set1.difference(set2,set3)

Output
{1, 2}

d. symmetric_difference()
This method returns all the items that are unique to each set.
 Symmetric difference set in Python

>>> set1.symmetric_difference(set2)

Output
{1, 2, 4, 5}

It returned 1 and 2 because they’re in set1, but not in set2. It also returned 4
and 5 because they’re in set2, but not in set1. It did not return 3 because it
exists in both the sets.

e. intersection_update()
As we discussed in intersection(), it does not update the set on which it is
called. For this, we have the intersection_update() method.

>>> set1.intersection_update(set2)
>>> set1

Output
{3}

It stored 3 in set1, because only that was common in set1 and set2.

f. difference_update()
Like intersection-update(), this method updates the Python set with the
difference.
>>> set1={1,2,3}
>>> set2={3,4,5}
>>> set1.difference_update(set2)
>>> set1

Output
{1, 2}

g. symmetric_difference_update()
Like the two methods we discussed before this, it updates the set on which it is
called with the symmetric difference.

>>> set1={1,2,3}
>>> set2={3,4,5}
>>> set1.symmetric_difference_update(set2)
>>> set1

Output
{1, 2, 4, 5}

h. copy()
The copy() method creates a shallow copy of the Python set.

>>> set4=set1.copy()
>>> set1,set4

Output
({1, 2, 4, 5}, {1, 2, 4, 5})

i. isdisjoint()
This method returns True if two sets have a null intersection.

>>> {1,3,2}.isdisjoint({4,5,6})

Output
True

However, it can take only one argument.

>>> {1,3,2}.isdisjoint({3,4,5},{6,7,8})
Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#111>”, line 1, in <module>

{1,3,2}.isdisjoint({3,4,5},{6,7,8})

TypeError: isdisjoint() takes exactly one argument (2 given)

j. issubset()
This method returns true if the set in the argument contains this set.

>>> {1,2}.issubset({1,2,3})

Output
True

>>> {1,2}.issubset({1,2})

Output
True

{1,2} is a proper subset of {1,2,3} and an improper subset of {1,2}.

k. issuperset()
Like the issubset() method, this one returns True if the set contains the set in
the argument.

>>> {1,3,4}.issuperset({1,2})

Output
False

>>> {1,3,4}.issuperset({1})

Output
True

7. Python Operations on Sets

Now, we will look at the operations that we can perform on sets.

a. Membership
We can apply the ‘in’ and ‘not in’ python operators on items for a set. This tells
us whether they belong to the set.

>>> 'p' in {'a','p','p','l','e'}

Output
True

>>> 0 not in {'0','1'}

Output
True

8. Iterating on a Set in Python

Like we have seen with lists and tuples, we can also iterate on a set in a for-
loop.

>>> for i in {1,3,2}:

print(i)

Output
12

As you can see, even though we had the order as 1,3,2, it is printed in
ascending order.

9. The frozenset
A frozen set is in-effect an immutable set. You cannot change its values. Also, a
set can’t be used a key for a dictionary, but a frozenset can.

>>> {{1,2}:3}

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#123>”, line 1, in <module>

{{1,2}:3}

TypeError: unhashable type: ‘set’

Now let’s try doing this with a frozenset.

>>> {frozenset(1,2):3}

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#124>”, line 1, in <module>

{frozenset(1,2):3}

TypeError: frozenset expected at most 1 arguments, got 2

As you can see, it takes only one argument. Now let’s see the correct syntax.

>>> {frozenset([1,2]):3}

Output
{frozenset({1, 2}): 3}

What are Python Booleans?

Finally, let’s discuss Booleans. A Boolean is another data type that Python has
to offer.

1. Value of a Boolean
As we have seen earlier, a Boolean value may either be True or be False. Some
methods like isalpha() or issubset() return a Boolean value.

2. Declaring a Boolean
You can declare a Boolean just like you would declare an integer.

>>> days=True

As you can see here, we didn’t need to delimit the True value by quotes. If you
do that, it is a string, not a Boolean.

Also note that what was once a set, we have reassigned a Boolean to it.

>>> type('True')
Output
<class ‘str’>

3. The bool() function

Like we have often seen earlier, the bool() function converts another value into
the Boolean type.

>>> bool('Wisdom')

Output
True

>>> bool([])

Output
False

4. Boolean Values of Various Constructs

Different values have different equivalent Boolean values. In this example, we
use the bool() Python set function to find the values.

For example, 0 has a Boolean value of False.

>>> bool(0)

Output
False

1 has a Boolean value of True, and so does 0.00000000001.

>>> bool(0.000000000001)

Output
True

A string has a Boolean value of True, but an empty string has False.

>>> bool(' ')

Output
True
>>> bool('')

Output
False

In fact, any empty construct has a Boolean value of False, and a non-empty
one has

Output
True.

>>> bool(())

Output
False

>>> bool((1,3,2))

Output
True

5. Operations on Booleans
a. Arithmetic
You can apply some arithmetic operations to a set. It takes 0 for False, and 1
for True, and then applies the operator to them.

 Addition
You can add two or more Booleans. Let’s see how that works.

>>> True+False #1+0

Output
1

>>> True+True #1+1

Output
2

>>> False+True #0+1

Output
1

>>> False+False #0+0

 Subtraction and Multiplication

The same strategy is adopted for subtraction and multiplication.

>>> False-True

Output
-1

 Division
Let’s try dividing Booleans.

>>> False/True

Output
0.0

Remember that division results in a float.

>>> True/False

Output
Traceback (most recent call last):File “<pyshell#148>”, line 1, in <module>

True/False

ZeroDivisionError: division by zero

This was an exception that raised. We will learn more about exception in a
later lesson.

 Modulus, Exponentiation, and Floor Division

The same rules apply for modulus, exponentiation, and floor division as well.

>>> False%True
>>> True**False

Output
1
>>> False**False

Output
1

>>> 0//1

Try your own combinations like the one below.

>>> (True+True)*False+True

Output
1

b. Relational
The relational operators we’ve learnt so far are >, <, >=, <=, !=, and ==. All of
these apply to Boolean values.

We will show you a few examples, you should try the rest of them.

>>> False>True

Output
False

>>> False<=True

Output
True

Again, this takes the value of False to be 0, and that of True to be 1.

c. Bitwise
Normally, the bitwise operators operate bit-by bit. For example, the following
code ORs the bits of 2(010) and 5(101), and produces the result 7(111).

>>> 2|5

Output
7

But the bitwise operators also apply to Booleans. Let’s see how.
 Bitwise &
It returns True only if both values are True.

>>> True&False

Output
False

>>> True&True

Output
True

Since Booleans are single-bit, it’s equivalent to applying these operations on 0

and/or

 Bitwise |
It returns False only if both values are False.

>>> False|True

Output
True

 Bitwise XOR (^)

This returns True only if one value is True and one is False.

>>> False^True

Output
True

>>> False^False

Output
False

>>> True^True

Output
False

 Binary 1’s Complement

This calculates 1’s complement for True(1) and False(0).
>>> ~True

Output
-2

>>> ~False

Output
-1

 Left-shift(<<) and Right-shift(>>) Operators

As discussed earlier, these operators shift the value by specified number of bits
left and right, respectively.

>>> False>>2
>>> True<<2

Output
4

True is 1. When shifted two places two the left, it results in 100, which is
binary for 4. Hence, it returns 4.

d. Identity
The identity operators ‘is’ and ‘is not’ apply to Booleans.

>>> False is False

Output
True

>>> False is 0

Output
False

e. Logical
Finally, even the logical operators apply on Booleans.

>>> False and True

Output
False

This was all about the article on Python set and booleans.

1. What is Boolean in Python?

2. How do you set a Boolean value in Python?
3. Give an example of Python set and Boolean ?
4. How do you use Boolean in Python?
5. How do you check if a value is a Boolean in Python?

Note: this textbook written by Pranav sirsufale @all rights are reserved
Author: Pranav Sirsufale 👻🔥👀💻