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I am trying out operations on sets and i have become stuck on how you could update set of pairs, say I have a set $A$: $$A = \{(a,3),(b,5),(c,7)\}.$$

If I wanted to add a pair I would use the union of the two sets; $$A \cup \{(x,8)\}.$$ Or remove one I would use the set difference; $$A \setminus \{(b,5)\}$$ How do you go about updating $a$, $b$ in the pair $(a,b)$ in set $A$?

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    Just take out the old pair and insert the new one. If you do this a lot, you can define a specific, more compact, notation for the operation.2011-10-27
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    @HenningMakholm, consider to post your comment as an answer.2011-10-28
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    If you are after a shorter notation for this, it can be expressed using [symmetric difference](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetric_difference) as $A\triangle\{(b,5),(x,8)\}$. Of course, this is not ideal - from this notation you don't see which pair is replaced by the other one.2011-10-28

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There is no standard notation for this, but it is clear what to do: simply remove the old pair and then insert the new one: $$ (A\setminus\{(a,b_1)\})\cup\{(a,b_2)\} $$ or possibly even (if your relation is known to be functional): $$ \{(x,y)\in A\mid x\neq a\}\cup\{(a,b)\} $$ If you find yourself doing this a lot, you're free to define a more compact notation for it yourself. Just make sure to explain it to your reader before using it.

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    "...you're free to define a more compact notation for it yourself. Just make sure to explain it to your reader before using it." - this deserves a +1 on its own.2011-10-28