Python set Method - difference_update()

The difference_update() method in Python is used to remove the elements of a second set from the first set. The method modifies the original set in place and does not return anything.

The syntax for the difference_update() method is as follows:

set1.difference_update(set2)

Here, set1 is the set from which we need to remove the elements of set2. The method removes the elements of set2 from set1 and modifies set1 in place.

Example:

# Creating two sets
set1 = {1, 2, 3, 4}
set2 = {3, 4, 5, 6}

# Removing the elements of set2 from set1
set1.difference_update(set2)

# Displaying the modified set
print(set1)   # Output: {1, 2}

In the above example, the difference_update() method is used to remove the elements of set2 from set1. The original set set1 is modified in place and the output shows that it now contains only the elements {1, 2}. If there are no common elements between the sets, the difference_update() method has no effect. It is important to note that the difference_update() method modifies the original set in place, so if you want to preserve the original set, you should make a copy of it before using the method.