What are the advantages of using sets in Python?

What are the advantages of using sets in Python?

Sets in Python are unordered collections of unique elements. They offer several advantages, such as faster membership testing, automatic removal of duplicates, and support for mathematical operations like union and intersection.

Can you explain how sets handle duplicates?

Sure! Sets automatically remove duplicate entries. If you try to add a duplicate item, it simply won't be added, ensuring all elements in a set are unique.

What about performance? Are sets faster than lists?

Yes, sets are generally faster than lists for membership tests. Checking if an item is in a set is on average O(1) time complexity, while for lists, it's O(n).

Can you give me an example of set operations?

Absolutely! You can perform operations like union, intersection, and difference. For example, set1.union(set2) combines both sets, while set1.intersection(set2) gives you the common elements.