Python Reference

Quick Reference

The Python set update() method updates the current set by adding items from another set or sets (or any other iterable). If an item is present in both sets or multiple inserted sets, only one appearance of this item will be present in the updated set.

Example 1:

x = {"Ferrari", "Maserati", "Alfa Romeo"}
y = {"Lamborgini", "Ferrari", "Astin Martin"}

x.update(y) 
print(x)

Example 2:

x = {"Ferrari", "Maserati", "Alfa Romeo"}
y = {"Lamborgini", "Ferrari", "Astin Martin"}

x |= y 
print(x)

Output

{'Astin Martin', 'Ferrari', 'Alfa Romeo', 'Maserati', 'Lamborgini'}

Syntax

set.update(set1, set2, ...)

// or

set |= set1 | set2 | ...

Parameters

ParameterDescription
set1The iterable insert into the current set (required)
set2Addition iterables to insert into the set; you can insert as many iterables as you like by separating each iterable with a comma (or if using the shortcut version a | pipe operator)

Python Notes:

  • The most recent major version of Python is Python 3; however, Python 2 is still in use and quite popular, although not being updated with anything other than security updates
  • Python uses new lines to complete a command, as opposed to other programming languages which often use semicolons or parentheses
  • Python relies on indentation, using whitespace to define scope, such as the scope of loops, functions, and classes; other programming languages often use curly-brackets for this purpose
  • Python string methods return new values, and DO NOT change the original string
  • Python tuples are unchangeable after created (their items CANNOT be changed or re-ordered at a later point)
  • Python sets are unordered (may appear in random orders when called), unchangeable (the value of individual items cannot be changed after creation), and unindexed (items cannot be referred to by index or key)

We’d like to acknowledge that we learned a great deal of our coding from W3Schools and TutorialsPoint, borrowing heavily from their teaching process and excellent code examples. We highly recommend both sites to deepen your experience, and further your coding journey. We’re just hitting the basics here at 1SMARTchicken.