Table of Contents
In this example, you will learn to differentiate between del, remove, and pop on a list.
To understand this example, you should have the knowledge of the following Python programming topics:
1. Use of del
del
deletes items at a specified position.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] del my_list[1] print(my_list)
Output
[1, 3, 4]
del
can delete the entire list with a single statement whereas remove()
and pop()
cannot.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] del my_list print(my_list)
Output
NameError: name 'my_list' is not defined
Moreover, it can also remove a specific range of values, unlike remove()
and pop()
.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] del my_list[2:] print(my_list)
Output
[1, 2]
1.1. Error mode
If the given item is not present in the list, del gives an IndexError
.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] del my_list[5] print(my_list)
Output
IndexError: list assignment index out of range
2. Use of remove
remove()
deletes the specified item.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] my_list.remove(2) print(my_list)
Output
[1, 3, 4]
2.1. Error mode
If the given item is not present in the list, del gives an ValueError
.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] my_list.remove(15) print(my_list)
Output
ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list
3. Use of pop
pop()
removes the item at a specified position and returns it.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] print(my_list.pop(1)) print(my_list)
Output
2 [1, 3, 4]
3.1. Error mode
If the given item is not present in the list, del gives an IndexError
.
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 4] my_list.pop(5) print(my_list)
Output
IndexError: pop index out of range
If you want to learn more about these individual methods/statements, you can learn at Python del Statement, Python List remove() – Programiz, and Python List pop() – Programiz.