What are the best practices for using sets in Python?

What are the best practices for using sets in Python?

Using sets in Python is great for unique collections. Best practices include using them for membership tests, avoiding mutable types, and leveraging set operations like union and intersection.

Can you explain why sets are better for membership tests?

Sets in Python use a hash table for storage, which allows for average O(1) time complexity for membership tests, making them much faster than lists.

Are there any limitations to using sets?

Yes, sets cannot contain mutable elements like lists or dictionaries. Also, they are unordered, so you cannot access elements by index.

How do I convert a list to a set?

You can convert a list to a set by using the set() constructor. For example, my_set = set(my_list).

What are some common operations I can perform with sets?

Common operations include union (|), intersection (&), difference (-), and symmetric difference (^). These allow you to combine and compare sets easily.