Python Program to print all distinct uncommon digits present in two given numbers

Namachila November 19, 2025

0 2 4 minutes read

Given two positive integers A and B, the task is to print the distinct digits in descending order, which are not common in the two numbers.

Examples:

Input: A = 378212, B = 78124590
Output: 9 5 4 3 0
Explanation: All distinct digits present in the two numbers are {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9}. The digits {1, 2, 6, 7} are common in both numbers.

Input: A = 100, B = 273
Output: 7 3 2 1 0
Explanation: All distinct digits present in the two numbers are {0, 1, 2, 3, 7}. The digits {0, 1, 2, 3, 7} are common in both numbers.

Approach: The problem can be solved using sets, and lists in python. Follow the steps below to solve the problem:

Convert both integers into strings.
Now, store the equivalent integer values of the characters of the strings A and B in the lists lis1 and lis2, using map() function.
Convert both the lists lis1 and lis2 to set lis1 and lis2 using the set() method.
Now, find the uncommon digits of both sets lis1 and lis2 using the function symmetric_difference() and store it in a set, say lis.
After completing the above steps, convert the set lis into list lis using list() method.
Finally, Sort the list in descending order and print the list lis as the answer.

Below is the implementation of the above approach:

Python3

# Python implementation
# of the above approach
 
# Function to print uncommon digits
# of two numbers in descending order
def disticntUncommonDigits(A, B):
 
    # Stores digits of A as string
    A = str(A)
 
    # Stores digits of B as string
    B = str(B)
 
    # Stores the characters
    # of A in a integer list
    lis1 = list(map(int, A))
     
    # Stores the characters
    # of B in a integer list
    lis2 = list(map(int, B))
 
    # Converts lis1 to set
    lis1 = set(lis1)
 
    # Converts lis2 to set
    lis2 = set(lis2)
 
    # Stores the uncommon digits present
    # in the sets lis1 and lis2
    lis = lis1.symmetric_difference(lis2)
 
    # Converts lis to list
    lis = list(lis)
 
    # Sort the list in descending order
    lis.sort(reverse = True)
 
    # Print the list lis
    for i in lis:
        print(i, end =" ")
 
# Driver Code
 
 
# Input
A = 378212
B = 78124590
 
disticntUncommonDigits(A, B)

Output:

9 5 4 3 0

Time Complexity: O(log₁₀(A) + log₁₀(B))
Auxiliary Space: O(log₁₀(A) + log₁₀(B))

Method #2:Using Operator.countOf() method

Python3

# Python implementation
# of the above approach
import operator as op
# Function to print uncommon digits
# of two numbers in descending order
 
 
def disticntUncommonDigits(A, B):
 
    # Stores digits of A as string
    A = str(A)
 
    # Stores digits of B as string
    B = str(B)
 
    # Stores the characters
    # of A in a integer list
    lis1 = list(map(int, A))
 
    # Stores the characters
    # of B in a integer list
    lis2 = list(map(int, B))
    res = []
    for i in lis1:
        if op.countOf(lis2, i) == 0:
            res.append(i)
    for i in lis2:
        if op.countOf(lis1, i) == 0:
            res.append(i)
    # Sort the list in descending order
    res.sort(reverse=True)
 
    # Print the list lis
    for i in res:
        print(i, end=" ")
 
# Driver Code
 
 
# Input
A = 378212
B = 78124590
 
disticntUncommonDigits(A, B)

Output

9 5 4 3 0

Time Complexity: O(log10(A) + log10(B))
Auxiliary Space: O(log10(A) + log10(B))

Approach#3: Using set() and difference() and sorted and union

Convert both numbers A and B to sets of digits. Find uncommon digits in both sets by taking the set difference and union of the sets. Convert the resulting set of uncommon digits to a list and sort it in descending order. Print the list of uncommon digits as a string.

Algorithm

1. Initialize A and B with given values.
2. Convert A and B to sets of digits.
3. Find uncommon digits using set difference and union.
4. Convert resulting set to a list and sort it in descending order.
5. Print the list of uncommon digits as a string.

Python3

A = 378212
B = 78124590
 
# find unique digits in each number
digits_A = set(str(A))
digits_B = set(str(B))
 
# find uncommon digits using set difference
uncommon_digits = digits_A.difference(digits_B).union(digits_B.difference(digits_A))
 
# convert set to list and sort in descending order
uncommon_digits = sorted(list(uncommon_digits), reverse=True)
 
# print the list of uncommon digits
print(' '.join(uncommon_digits))

Output

9 5 4 3 0

Time Complexity: O(m+n), where m and n are the number of digits in A and B, respectively. This is because the set() function and set difference and union operations take O(m) and O(n) time, respectively.

Space Complexity: O(m+n), where m and n are the number of digits in A and B, respectively. This is because we are storing the digits of A and B in sets, which take up O(m) and O(n) space, respectively. The resulting set of uncommon digits and the list of uncommon digits also take up O(m+n) space.

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