set vs unordered_set in C++ STL

Last Updated : 10 Nov, 2022

Differences :

                |     set             | unordered_set
---------------------------------------------------------
Ordering        | increasing  order   | no ordering
                | (by default)        |

Implementation  | Self balancing BST  | Hash Table
                | like Red-Black Tree |  

search time     | log(n)              | O(1) -> Average 
                |                     | O(n) -> Worst Case

Insertion time  | log(n) + Rebalance  | Same as search
                      
Deletion time   | log(n) + Rebalance  | Same as search

Use set when

We need ordered data.
We would have to print/access the data (in sorted order).
We need predecessor/successor of elements.
Since set is ordered, we can use functions like binary_search(), lower_bound() and upper_bound() on set elements. These functions cannot be used on unordered_set().
See advantages of BST over Hash Table for more cases.

Use unordered_set when

We need to keep a set of distinct elements and no ordering is required.
We need single element access i.e. no traversal.

Examples:

set:
Input  :  1, 8, 2, 5, 3, 9
Output :  1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9

Unordered_set:
Input  : 1, 8, 2, 5, 3, 9
Output : 9 3 1 8 2 5

If you want to look at implementation details of set and unordered_set in c++ STL, see Set Vs Map. Set allows to traverse elements in sorted order whereas Unordered_set doesn't allow to traverse elements in sorted order.

Implementation:

CPP

// Program to print elements of set
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    set<int> s;
    s.insert(5);
    s.insert(1);
    s.insert(6);
    s.insert(3);
    s.insert(7);
    s.insert(2);

    cout << "Elements of set in sorted order: \n";
    for (auto it : s)
        cout << it << " ";

    return 0;
}

Output

Elements of set in sorted order: 
1 2 3 5 6 7

Implementation:

CPP

// Program to print elements of set
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

int main()
{
    unordered_set<int> s;
    s.insert(5);
    s.insert(1);
    s.insert(6);
    s.insert(3);
    s.insert(7);
    s.insert(2);

    cout << "Elements of unordered_set: \n";
    for (auto it : s)
        cout << it << " ";

    return 0;
}

Output

Elements of unordered_set: 
2 7 3 6 5 1

Predecessor/Successor in Set: Set can be modified to find predecessor or successor whereas Unordered_set doesn't allow to find predecessor/Successor.

Implementation:

CPP

// Program to print inorder predecessor and inorder successor
#include <bits/stdc++.h>
using namespace std;

set<int> s;

void inorderPredecessor(int key)
{
    if (s.find(key) == s.end()) {
        cout << "Key doesn't exist\n";
        return;
    }

    set<int>::iterator it;
    it = s.find(key); // get iterator of key

    // If iterator is at first position
    // Then, it doesn't have predecessor
    if (it == s.begin()) {
        cout << "No predecessor\n";
        return;
    }

    --it; // get previous element
    cout << "predecessor of " << key << " is=";
    cout << *(it) << "\n";
}

void inorderSuccessor(int key)
{
    if (s.find(key) == s.end()) {
        cout << "Key doesn't exist\n";
        return;
    }

    set<int>::iterator it;
    it = s.find(key); // get iterator of key
    ++it; // get next element

    // Iterator points to NULL (Element does
    // not exist)
    if (it == s.end())
    {
        cout << "No successor\n";
        return;
    }
    cout << "successor of " << key << " is=";
    cout << *(it) << "\n";
}

int main()
{
    s.insert(1);
    s.insert(5);
    s.insert(2);
    s.insert(9);
    s.insert(8);

    inorderPredecessor(5);
    inorderPredecessor(1);
    inorderPredecessor(8);
    inorderSuccessor(5);
    inorderSuccessor(2);
    inorderSuccessor(9);

    return 0;
}

Output

predecessor of 5 is=2
No predecessor
predecessor of 8 is=5
successor of 5 is=8
successor of 2 is=5
No successor

Let us see the differences in a tabular form -:

	set	unordered_set
1.	It is used to store the unique elements.	It is used to store the unique elements.
2.	Sets are implemented using Binary search trees.	It is implemented using hash table
3.	It stores the elements in increasing order.	It stores the element with no order.
4.	We can traverse sets using iterators.	We can traverse unordered_set using iterators.
5.	It is included in #include <set> header file.	It is included in #include <unordered_set> header file.

Abhishek rajput

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