Sets

Published Jul 30, 2021Updated May 15, 2024

In Ruby, a Set is a collection of unordered, non-duplicated values. They are functional like an Array but have quick lookup with Hash-storage.

Syntax

In order to use Sets:

Import the set module with require()
Use the Set keyword followed by brackets ([]) containing comma-separated values

require("set")

test_set = Set[1, 2]

puts test_set # Output: #<Set: {1, 2}>

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Example

Values can be added to Sets with #add():

test_set.add("It's a Beautiful Day!")

puts test_set

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They can also be deleted with #delete(). Pass in the actual value. If the value doesn’t exist in the Set, nothing happens to it:

test_set.delete(2)

puts test_set # Output: #<Set: {1, "It's a Beautiful Day!"}>

test_set.delete(100)

puts test_set # Output: #<Set: {1, "It's a Beautiful Day!"}>

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Since Sets are array- and hash-like, they are iterable and can use methods like each:

require("set")

test_set = Set[1, 2]

test_set.add(3)
test_set.add("It's a Beautiful Day!")

test_set.each do |element|
  puts element
end

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