[Python-Dev] Set data type

[Gordon McMillan]

Ka-Ping Yee wrote:

> After Eric asked about sets at dinner (e.g. having 'x in dict'
> do 'dict.has_key(x)') i wondered about what it would take to
> support sets.  

[huge snip]

While the syntax is really, really nice, of all the things in 
kjbuckets, sets are the only one that can be (almost) 
transparently faked. It strikes me the really valuable stuff there 
is in things like set*dict, finding closures, transposing... I 
know that Guido is not very comfortable with some of the 
choices Aaron made (or perhaps with defending those choices 
to the algebraicly impaired), but it seems a shame to just do 
the easy one and ignore the really powerful algebra that goes 
with it.

- Gordon