;+
;
; @file_comments
; find the different elements of 2 matrixes of positive whole numbers.
;
; see also <pro>union</pro> and <pro>inter</pro>.
;
; @categories
; Calculation
;
; @param a {in}{required}
; arrays of positive integers, which need
; not be sorted. Duplicate elements are ignored, as they have no
; effect on the result
;
; @param b {in}{required}
; see a
;
; @returns
; an array containing the set of values in only a.
;
; The empty set is denoted by an array with the first element equal to
; -1.
;
; @restrictions
; These functions will not be efficient on sparse sets with wide
; ranges, as they trade memory for efficiency. The HISTOGRAM function
; is used, which creates arrays of size equal to the range of the
; resulting set.
;
; @examples
;
;   IDL> a = [2,4,6,8]
;   IDL> b = [6,1,3,2]
;
;   IDL> res=different(a,b) 
;              4           8
; Right because 4 and 8 are in a but not in b !
;
;   IDL> res=different(b,a)
;   IDL> print,res
;              1           3
;
; Right because 1 and 3 are in b but not in a !
;
; @history
; <a href="http://www.dfanning.com/tips/set_operations.html"/>
;
; @version
; $Id$
;
;-
FUNCTION different, a, b
;
  compile_opt idl2, strictarrsubs
;

   ; = a and (not b) = elements in A but not in B

mina = Min(a, Max=maxa)
minb = Min(b, Max=maxb)
IF (minb GT maxa) OR (maxb LT mina) THEN RETURN, a ;No intersection...
r = Where(Histogram(a, Min=mina, Max=maxa) $
          *(1-Histogram(b, Min=mina, Max=maxa)), count)
IF count eq 0 THEN RETURN, -1 ELSE RETURN, r + mina
END