DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE & ENGINEERING

ALGORITHMIC THINKING WITH PYTHON

Prof. Sarju S
13 November 2024
 Module 3

Page 2
 Module 3

► SELECTION AND ITERATION USING PYTHON:- if-else, elif, for loop, range, while loop.

► SEQUENCE DATA TYPES IN PYTHON - list, tuple, set, strings, dictionary, Creating and
using Arrays in Python (using Numpy library).

► DECOMPOSITION AND MODULARIZATION* :- Problem decomposition as a strategy for

solving complex problems, Modularization, Motivation for modularization, Defining and
using functions in Python, Functions with multiple return values

Page 3 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Python Set

Page 4
 What is a Set?

► A set is a collection data type that is unordered, unique, mutable

(changeable), and unindexed.
► Unordered: The items do not have a defined order, so they do not maintain the
sequence in which they were added.
► Unique: A set cannot contain duplicate items. If duplicates are added, they will
automatically be removed.
► Mutable: Sets can be changed after they are created, allowing elements to be added or
removed.
► Unindexed: set do not have a specific position or index number.
► Unlike lists or tuples, where each element has a fixed position that you can access using an
index (like list[0] to get the first item), sets do not support this kind of indexing.

Page 5 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Creating a Set

► In Python, sets can be created in two main ways:

► Using curly braces {}

► my_set = {1, 2, 3}

► Using the set() function

► my_set = set([1, 2, 3])

Page 6 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Creating an Empty Set

► In Python, curly braces {} are used to create both dictionaries and sets.
► However, when you write {} alone, Python interprets it as an empty dictionary rather
than an empty set.

► To create an empty set, you need to use the set() function.

► If you write set() with parentheses, Python understands this as an empty set.

# Empty set
empty_set = set()
print(type(empty_set)) # Output: <class 'set'>

Page 7 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Basic Set Operations

Page 8
Basic Set Operations
Operation Explanation Example
A = {1, 2, 3}
Add (add()) Adds a single specified element to the set. A.add(4)
Output: {1, 2, 3, 4}
A = {1, 2, 3}
Adds multiple elements from another set or iterable (like a list) to
Update (update()) A.update([4, 5, 6])
the set.
Output: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}
A = {1, 2, 3}
Removes a specific element from the set; raises an error if the
Remove (remove()) A.remove(2)
element is not found.
Output: {1, 3}
A = {1, 2, 3}
Removes a specific element from the set, but does not raise an
Discard (discard()) A.discard(4)
error if it’s missing.
Output: {1, 2, 3}
A = {1, 2, 3}
A.pop()
Pop (pop()) Removes and returns an arbitrary element from the set.
Output: {2, 3} (removes one item
randomly)
A = {1, 2, 3}
Clear (clear()) Removes all elements from the set, making it empty. A.clear()
Output: set() (an empty set)

Page 9 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Iterating through a Set

► To iterate through a set in Python, you can use a for loop.

► Since sets are unordered collections, the items do not have a specific order when
you iterate over them.
# Define a set with some values
my_set = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50}
40
10
# Use a for loop to iterate through the set
50
for item in my_set:
20
print(item)
30

Note: The order in which items are printed may differ when you run the program because sets do
not maintain a fixed order.

Page 10 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Common Set Operations

Page 11
 Common Set Operations

► Python sets support various operations inspired by mathematical set theory

► Union (| or union())
► Combines all elements from two sets, returning a new set with all unique elements from
both.

A = {1, 2, 3}
B = {3, 4, 5}
C = A | B # or A.union(B)
print(C) # Output: {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

Page 12 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Common Set Operations

► Python sets support various operations inspired by mathematical set theory

► Intersection (& or intersection())
► Returns a new set containing only the elements found in both sets.

A = {1, 2, 3}
B = {3, 4, 5}
C = A & B # or A.intersection(B)
print(C) # Output: {3}

Page 13 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Common Set Operations

► Python sets support various operations inspired by mathematical set theory

► Difference (- or difference())
► Returns a new set with elements that are in the first set but not in the second.

A = {1, 2, 3}
B = {3, 4, 5}
C = A - B # or A.difference(B)
print(C) # Output: {1, 2}

Page 14 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Common Set Operations

► Python sets support various operations inspired by mathematical set theory

► Symmetric Difference (^ or symmetric_difference())
► Returns a new set containing elements found in either of the sets but not in both.

A = {1, 2, 3}
B = {3, 4, 5}
C = A ^ B # or A.symmetric_difference(B)
print(C) # Output: {1, 2, 4, 5}

Page 15 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Why Use Sets?

► Sets are useful in situations where:

► Duplicate items are unnecessary: If you need to ensure only unique items, sets
automatically handle duplicates for you.

► Membership Testing: Checking if an item is in a set is generally faster than in lists or

tuples due to the underlying data structure.

► Set Operations: If you need to perform union, intersection, or difference, sets make
these tasks straightforward.

Page 16 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Class Room Exercises

Page 17
 Class Room Exercises

Exercise 1: Unique Customer Visits

► Problem: A store wants to track the unique customer IDs of people who visit
each day. Each customer has a unique ID, and some customers visit more
than once a day. Create a program that adds customer IDs to a set, then
displays the unique customers for the day.

► Instructions
► Use add() to add customer IDs to a set.
► Display the set to see all unique customer IDs.
https://github.com/sarjus/Algorithemic-Thinking-with-Python-classroom-
exercises/blob/main/set-unique-customer.py

Page 18 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Class Room Exercises

Exercise 2: Updating Inventory with New Items

► Problem: A shop has an initial inventory of items but receives a shipment

with new items. Update the inventory with the new items, ensuring there are
no duplicate entries.

► Instructions
► Create a set for the current inventory.
► Use update() to add new items from a shipment.
► Display the updated inventory.
https://github.com/sarjus/Algorithemic-Thinking-with-Python-classroom-
exercises/blob/main/set-update-inventory.py

Page 19 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Class Room Exercises

Exercise 3: Removing Out-of-Stock Items

► Problem: The store wants to remove specific items from the inventory when
they are out of stock. Use remove() or discard() to handle this.

► Instructions
► Create a set with current stock items.
► Use remove() to remove an item that’s out of stock.
► Try to use discard() to remove another item (including one that might not exist).

https://github.com/sarjus/Algorithemic-Thinking-with-Python-classroom-
exercises/blob/main/set-remove-item.py

Page 20 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Class Room Exercises

Exercise 4: Drawing a Random Winner from Participants

► Problem: A school is organizing a raffle with unique student IDs. Write a

program to randomly select a winner from the list of participants using
pop().

► Instructions
► Add student IDs to a set.
► Use pop() to randomly remove and display a winner.
► Ensure the winner is removed from the set.
https://github.com/sarjus/Algorithemic-Thinking-with-Python-classroom-
exercises/blob/main/set-random-winner.py

Page 21 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Class Room Exercises

Exercise 5: Clearing Expired Discounts

► Problem: A store has a set of discount codes, but all codes have expired, so
they need to be removed. Write a program to clear the discount codes.

► Instructions
► Create a set of discount codes.
► Use clear() to remove all codes.
► Display the set to confirm it’s empty.

https://github.com/sarjus/Algorithemic-Thinking-with-Python-classroom-
exercises/blob/main/set-discount-codes.py

Page 22 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Class Room Exercises

Exercise 5: Clearing Expired Discounts

► Problem: A store has a set of discount codes, but all codes have expired, so
they need to be removed. Write a program to clear the discount codes.

► Instructions
► Create a set of discount codes.
► Use clear() to remove all codes.
► Display the set to confirm it’s empty.

https://github.com/sarjus/Algorithemic-Thinking-with-Python-classroom-
exercises/blob/main/set-discount-codes.py

Page 23 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Class Room Exercises

Exercise 6: Removing a Product that Failed Quality Check

► Problem: A warehouse has a set of products ready for shipment, but one
product fails the quality check and must be removed. Use discard() to
remove it safely without raising an error if it’s missing.

► Instructions
► Create a set of product IDs.
► Use discard() to remove a failed product.
► Print the set to see the updated list of products.
https://github.com/sarjus/Algorithemic-Thinking-with-Python-classroom-
exercises/blob/main/set-quality-check.py

Page 24 Prof. Sarju S, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, SJCET Palai
 Thank You

Prof. Sarju S
Department of Computer Science and Engineering
St. Joseph’s College of Engineering and Technology, Palai (Autonomous)
[email protected]

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Document is compiled exclusively for study purpose and shall not be used for commercial purpose.