Kotlin Set : setOf() (original) (raw)

Last Updated : 12 Jul, 2025

In Kotlin, a **Set is a generic unordered collection of elements that does not allow duplicate elements. Kotlin provides two main types of sets:

  1. **Immutable Set: Created using **setOf() – supports only read-only operations.
  2. **Mutable Set: Created using **mutableSetOf() – supports both read and write operations.

In this article, we are going to learn about immutable set, i.e., **setOf().

To learn about Mutable set, refer to Kotlin mutableSetOf()

**Syntax:

fun setOf( vararg elements****:** T): Set

**Description:

The setOf() function returns a new **read-only set containing the given elements. The elements are iterated in the order they are stored, but remember, Set does not guarantee a consistent element order (especially if you're using the standard Set interface and not **LinkedHashSet).

**Example of **setOf() function :

Kotlin `

fun main() { val set = setOf("Geeksforgeeks", "Gfg", 1, 2, 3, 4) for (element in set) { println(element) } }

`

**Output:

Geeksforgeeks
Gfg
1
2
3
4

Set Indexing -

Kotlin provides certain functions for indexing:

  1. indexOf(element): Returns the first index of the specified element.
  2. lastIndexOf(element): Returns the last index (relevant only for lists; not typically used with sets).
  3. elementAt(index): Returns the element at a specific index.

**Example of using index -

Kotlin `

fun main() { val set = listOf("Branch", "Leaf", "Root", "Stem", "Root") println("The element at index 2 is: ${set.elementAt(2)}") println("The index of element is: ${set.indexOf("Leaf")}") println("The last index of element is: ${set.lastIndexOf("Root")}") }

`

**Output:

The element at index 2 is: Root
The index of element is: 1
The last index of element is: 4

Set first and last element -

We can get the first and element of a set using **first() and **last() functions.

**Example -

Kotlin `

fun main() { val set = setOf(1, "Kohli", "Dhawan") println("The first element of the set is: ${set.first()}") println("The last element of the set is: ${set.last()}") }

`

**Output:

The first element of the set is: 1
The last element of the set is: Dhawan

Set Basics -

Here we will discuss basics functions like count(), max(), min(), sum(), average().

**Example of using basic functions -

Kotlin `

fun main() { val num = setOf(1 ,2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8) println("The number of element in the set is: "+num.count()) println("The maximum element in the set is: "+num.max()) println("The minimum element in the set is: "+num.min()) println("The sum of the elements in the set is: "+num.sum()) println("The average of elements in the set is: "+num.average()) }

`

**Output:

The number of element in the set is: 8
The maximum element in the set is: 8
The minimum element in the set is: 1
The sum of the elements in the set is: 36
The average of elements in the set is: 4.5

contains() and containsAll() functions -

Both the methods are used to check whether an element is present in the set or not?

**Example of using contains() and containsAll() function -

Kotlin `

fun main() { val set = setOf("Dhawan", "Kohli", "Rohit", 1, 2, 3) println("The set contains the element Dhawan? ${set.contains("Dhawan")}") println("The set contains the element 5? ${set.contains(5)}") println("The set contains all elements 1, 2, 3? ${set.containsAll(listOf(1, 2, 3))}") }

`

**Output:

The set contains the element Dhawan? true
The set contains the element 5? false
The set contains all elements 1, 2, 3? true

Empty Set and isEmpty() Function -

val emptySet = setOf()

This syntax returns an empty set of specific type, for eg. here we have used , String.

**Example of using isEmpty() function -

Kotlin `

fun main() { val seta = setOf() val setb = setOf() println("seta.isEmpty() is ${seta.isEmpty()}") println("seta == setb is ${seta == setb}") println(seta) }

`

**Output :

seta.isEmpty() is true
seta == setb is true
[]

Full Example Demonstrating setOf() -

Kotlin `

fun main() { val fruits = setOf("apple", "banana", "cherry") println("Fruits: $fruits") println("Does the set contain an apple? ${fruits.contains("apple")}") println("Does the set contain an orange? ${fruits.contains("orange")}")

for (fruit in fruits) {
    println(fruit)
}

}

`

**Output:

Fruits: [apple, banana, cherry]
Does the set contain an apple? true
Does the set contain an orange? false
apple
banana
cherry

Advantages of setOf() function in Kotlin:

  1. It is a simple and convenient way to create an immutable set of elements.
  2. Since the set is immutable, its contents cannot be modified once it has been created, making it a safe option for use in multithreaded environments.
  3. The setOf() function ensures that the set does not contain any duplicate elements, which can help to prevent bugs in your code.

Disadvantages of setOf() function in Kotlin:

  1. Since the set is immutable, you cannot add or remove elements from it once it has been created. This may be a disadvantage if you need to modify the contents of the set during the runtime of your program.
  2. If you need to create a mutable set that can be modified at runtime, you will need to use a different function, such as mutableSetOf().