/Doc/library/sets.rst

  1
  2:mod:`sets` --- Unordered collections of unique elements
  3========================================================
  4
  5.. module:: sets
  6   :synopsis: Implementation of sets of unique elements.
  7   :deprecated:
  8.. moduleauthor:: Greg V. Wilson <gvwilson@nevex.com>
  9.. moduleauthor:: Alex Martelli <aleax@aleax.it>
 10.. moduleauthor:: Guido van Rossum <guido@python.org>
 11.. sectionauthor:: Raymond D. Hettinger <python@rcn.com>
 12
 13
 14.. versionadded:: 2.3
 15
 16.. deprecated:: 2.6
 17   The built-in ``set``/``frozenset`` types replace this module.
 18
 19The :mod:`sets` module provides classes for constructing and manipulating
 20unordered collections of unique elements.  Common uses include membership
 21testing, removing duplicates from a sequence, and computing standard math
 22operations on sets such as intersection, union, difference, and symmetric
 23difference.
 24
 25Like other collections, sets support ``x in set``, ``len(set)``, and ``for x in
 26set``.  Being an unordered collection, sets do not record element position or
 27order of insertion.  Accordingly, sets do not support indexing, slicing, or
 28other sequence-like behavior.
 29
 30Most set applications use the :class:`Set` class which provides every set method
 31except for :meth:`__hash__`. For advanced applications requiring a hash method,
 32the :class:`ImmutableSet` class adds a :meth:`__hash__` method but omits methods
 33which alter the contents of the set. Both :class:`Set` and :class:`ImmutableSet`
 34derive from :class:`BaseSet`, an abstract class useful for determining whether
 35something is a set: ``isinstance(obj, BaseSet)``.
 36
 37The set classes are implemented using dictionaries.  Accordingly, the
 38requirements for set elements are the same as those for dictionary keys; namely,
 39that the element defines both :meth:`__eq__` and :meth:`__hash__`. As a result,
 40sets cannot contain mutable elements such as lists or dictionaries. However,
 41they can contain immutable collections such as tuples or instances of
 42:class:`ImmutableSet`.  For convenience in implementing sets of sets, inner sets
 43are automatically converted to immutable form, for example,
 44``Set([Set(['dog'])])`` is transformed to ``Set([ImmutableSet(['dog'])])``.
 45
 46
 47.. class:: Set([iterable])
 48
 49   Constructs a new empty :class:`Set` object.  If the optional *iterable*
 50   parameter is supplied, updates the set with elements obtained from iteration.
 51   All of the elements in *iterable* should be immutable or be transformable to an
 52   immutable using the protocol described in section :ref:`immutable-transforms`.
 53
 54
 55.. class:: ImmutableSet([iterable])
 56
 57   Constructs a new empty :class:`ImmutableSet` object.  If the optional *iterable*
 58   parameter is supplied, updates the set with elements obtained from iteration.
 59   All of the elements in *iterable* should be immutable or be transformable to an
 60   immutable using the protocol described in section :ref:`immutable-transforms`.
 61
 62   Because :class:`ImmutableSet` objects provide a :meth:`__hash__` method, they
 63   can be used as set elements or as dictionary keys.  :class:`ImmutableSet`
 64   objects do not have methods for adding or removing elements, so all of the
 65   elements must be known when the constructor is called.
 66
 67
 68.. _set-objects:
 69
 70Set Objects
 71-----------
 72
 73Instances of :class:`Set` and :class:`ImmutableSet` both provide the following
 74operations:
 75
 76+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 77| Operation                     | Equivalent | Result                          |
 78+===============================+============+=================================+
 79| ``len(s)``                    |            | cardinality of set *s*          |
 80+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 81| ``x in s``                    |            | test *x* for membership in *s*  |
 82+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 83| ``x not in s``                |            | test *x* for non-membership in  |
 84|                               |            | *s*                             |
 85+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 86| ``s.issubset(t)``             | ``s <= t`` | test whether every element in   |
 87|                               |            | *s* is in *t*                   |
 88+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 89| ``s.issuperset(t)``           | ``s >= t`` | test whether every element in   |
 90|                               |            | *t* is in *s*                   |
 91+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 92| ``s.union(t)``                | ``s | t``  | new set with elements from both |
 93|                               |            | *s* and *t*                     |
 94+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 95| ``s.intersection(t)``         | ``s & t``  | new set with elements common to |
 96|                               |            | *s* and *t*                     |
 97+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
 98| ``s.difference(t)``           | ``s - t``  | new set with elements in *s*    |
 99|                               |            | but not in *t*                  |
100+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
101| ``s.symmetric_difference(t)`` | ``s ^ t``  | new set with elements in either |
102|                               |            | *s* or *t* but not both         |
103+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
104| ``s.copy()``                  |            | new set with a shallow copy of  |
105|                               |            | *s*                             |
106+-------------------------------+------------+---------------------------------+
107
108Note, the non-operator versions of :meth:`union`, :meth:`intersection`,
109:meth:`difference`, and :meth:`symmetric_difference` will accept any iterable as
110an argument. In contrast, their operator based counterparts require their
111arguments to be sets.  This precludes error-prone constructions like
112``Set('abc') & 'cbs'`` in favor of the more readable
113``Set('abc').intersection('cbs')``.
114
115.. versionchanged:: 2.3.1
116   Formerly all arguments were required to be sets.
117
118In addition, both :class:`Set` and :class:`ImmutableSet` support set to set
119comparisons.  Two sets are equal if and only if every element of each set is
120contained in the other (each is a subset of the other). A set is less than
121another set if and only if the first set is a proper subset of the second set
122(is a subset, but is not equal). A set is greater than another set if and only
123if the first set is a proper superset of the second set (is a superset, but is
124not equal).
125
126The subset and equality comparisons do not generalize to a complete ordering
127function.  For example, any two disjoint sets are not equal and are not subsets
128of each other, so *all* of the following return ``False``:  ``a<b``, ``a==b``,
129or ``a>b``. Accordingly, sets do not implement the :meth:`__cmp__` method.
130
131Since sets only define partial ordering (subset relationships), the output of
132the :meth:`list.sort` method is undefined for lists of sets.
133
134The following table lists operations available in :class:`ImmutableSet` but not
135found in :class:`Set`:
136
137+-------------+------------------------------+
138| Operation   | Result                       |
139+=============+==============================+
140| ``hash(s)`` | returns a hash value for *s* |
141+-------------+------------------------------+
142
143The following table lists operations available in :class:`Set` but not found in
144:class:`ImmutableSet`:
145
146+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
147| Operation                            | Equivalent  | Result                          |
148+======================================+=============+=================================+
149| ``s.update(t)``                      | *s* \|= *t* | return set *s* with elements    |
150|                                      |             | added from *t*                  |
151+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
152| ``s.intersection_update(t)``         | *s* &= *t*  | return set *s* keeping only     |
153|                                      |             | elements also found in *t*      |
154+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
155| ``s.difference_update(t)``           | *s* -= *t*  | return set *s* after removing   |
156|                                      |             | elements found in *t*           |
157+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
158| ``s.symmetric_difference_update(t)`` | *s* ^= *t*  | return set *s* with elements    |
159|                                      |             | from *s* or *t* but not both    |
160+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
161| ``s.add(x)``                         |             | add element *x* to set *s*      |
162+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
163| ``s.remove(x)``                      |             | remove *x* from set *s*; raises |
164|                                      |             | :exc:`KeyError` if not present  |
165+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
166| ``s.discard(x)``                     |             | removes *x* from set *s* if     |
167|                                      |             | present                         |
168+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
169| ``s.pop()``                          |             | remove and return an arbitrary  |
170|                                      |             | element from *s*; raises        |
171|                                      |             | :exc:`KeyError` if empty        |
172+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
173| ``s.clear()``                        |             | remove all elements from set    |
174|                                      |             | *s*                             |
175+--------------------------------------+-------------+---------------------------------+
176
177Note, the non-operator versions of :meth:`update`, :meth:`intersection_update`,
178:meth:`difference_update`, and :meth:`symmetric_difference_update` will accept
179any iterable as an argument.
180
181.. versionchanged:: 2.3.1
182   Formerly all arguments were required to be sets.
183
184Also note, the module also includes a :meth:`union_update` method which is an
185alias for :meth:`update`.  The method is included for backwards compatibility.
186Programmers should prefer the :meth:`update` method because it is supported by
187the builtin :class:`set()` and :class:`frozenset()` types.
188
189
190.. _set-example:
191
192Example
193-------
194
195   >>> from sets import Set
196   >>> engineers = Set(['John', 'Jane', 'Jack', 'Janice'])
197   >>> programmers = Set(['Jack', 'Sam', 'Susan', 'Janice'])
198   >>> managers = Set(['Jane', 'Jack', 'Susan', 'Zack'])
199   >>> employees = engineers | programmers | managers           # union
200   >>> engineering_management = engineers & managers            # intersection
201   >>> fulltime_management = managers - engineers - programmers # difference
202   >>> engineers.add('Marvin')                                  # add element
203   >>> print engineers # doctest: +SKIP
204   Set(['Jane', 'Marvin', 'Janice', 'John', 'Jack'])
205   >>> employees.issuperset(engineers)     # superset test
206   False
207   >>> employees.update(engineers)         # update from another set
208   >>> employees.issuperset(engineers)
209   True
210   >>> for group in [engineers, programmers, managers, employees]: # doctest: +SKIP
211   ...     group.discard('Susan')          # unconditionally remove element
212   ...     print group
213   ...
214   Set(['Jane', 'Marvin', 'Janice', 'John', 'Jack'])
215   Set(['Janice', 'Jack', 'Sam'])
216   Set(['Jane', 'Zack', 'Jack'])
217   Set(['Jack', 'Sam', 'Jane', 'Marvin', 'Janice', 'John', 'Zack'])
218
219
220.. _immutable-transforms:
221
222Protocol for automatic conversion to immutable
223----------------------------------------------
224
225Sets can only contain immutable elements.  For convenience, mutable :class:`Set`
226objects are automatically copied to an :class:`ImmutableSet` before being added
227as a set element.
228
229The mechanism is to always add a :term:`hashable` element, or if it is not
230hashable, the element is checked to see if it has an :meth:`__as_immutable__`
231method which returns an immutable equivalent.
232
233Since :class:`Set` objects have a :meth:`__as_immutable__` method returning an
234instance of :class:`ImmutableSet`, it is possible to construct sets of sets.
235
236A similar mechanism is needed by the :meth:`__contains__` and :meth:`remove`
237methods which need to hash an element to check for membership in a set.  Those
238methods check an element for hashability and, if not, check for a
239:meth:`__as_temporarily_immutable__` method which returns the element wrapped by
240a class that provides temporary methods for :meth:`__hash__`, :meth:`__eq__`,
241and :meth:`__ne__`.
242
243The alternate mechanism spares the need to build a separate copy of the original
244mutable object.
245
246:class:`Set` objects implement the :meth:`__as_temporarily_immutable__` method
247which returns the :class:`Set` object wrapped by a new class
248:class:`_TemporarilyImmutableSet`.
249
250The two mechanisms for adding hashability are normally invisible to the user;
251however, a conflict can arise in a multi-threaded environment where one thread
252is updating a set while another has temporarily wrapped it in
253:class:`_TemporarilyImmutableSet`.  In other words, sets of mutable sets are not
254thread-safe.
255
256
257.. _comparison-to-builtin-set:
258
259Comparison to the built-in :class:`set` types
260---------------------------------------------
261
262The built-in :class:`set` and :class:`frozenset` types were designed based on
263lessons learned from the :mod:`sets` module.  The key differences are:
264
265* :class:`Set` and :class:`ImmutableSet` were renamed to :class:`set` and
266  :class:`frozenset`.
267
268* There is no equivalent to :class:`BaseSet`.  Instead, use ``isinstance(x,
269  (set, frozenset))``.
270
271* The hash algorithm for the built-ins performs significantly better (fewer
272  collisions) for most datasets.
273
274* The built-in versions have more space efficient pickles.
275
276* The built-in versions do not have a :meth:`union_update` method. Instead, use
277  the :meth:`update` method which is equivalent.
278
279* The built-in versions do not have a ``_repr(sorted=True)`` method.
280  Instead, use the built-in :func:`repr` and :func:`sorted` functions:
281  ``repr(sorted(s))``.
282
283* The built-in version does not have a protocol for automatic conversion to
284  immutable.  Many found this feature to be confusing and no one in the community
285  reported having found real uses for it.
286