Difference between remove, del and pop in Python list

Let’s know the basics of removing items in a list.

First of all, let’s discuss how a list looks like.

Moreover, it will be helpful because those methods are based on lists. Here in this article, I am going to tell you the difference between remove, del and pop which is related to Python list.

Remove vs del vs pop in Python

See the code below:

list_gvj = [ 1, 2, 12, 45, 789, "raj" ]

print ( list_gvj[3] )            # accessing elements by index

print (list_gvj)                 # prints whole list

The output of the code is given below:

45
[1, 2, 12, 45, 789, 'raj']

Certainly, there are different ways to deal with elements in the list.

1.  remove: This method is used to remove the elements in the list by value.
2.  del: This method allows to delete the elements using its index. It doesn’t return any value.
3.  pop: This method is used to delete the element by index and returns the deleted value.

It seems very confusing because it’s just their definitions.

remove() in a List :

As discussed earlier, basically, we are going to remove an element in a list.

Syntax:  list. remove (element)

list_gvj = [ 1, 2, 12, 45, 789, "raj" ]

print ("Initial list :",list_gvj)     # prints the above list

list_gvj.remove(12)                  # remove(element) removes the element from the list

print ("Final list :",list_gvj)

Output :

Initial list : [1, 2, 12, 45, 789, 'raj']
Final list : [1, 2, 45, 789, 'raj']

 

Certainly, what if the element is not present in the list?

list_gvj = [ 1, 2, 12, 45, 789, "raj" ]

list_gvj.remove(1234)                  # remove(element) removes the element from the list
                                        # 1234 is not there in the list
print ("Final list :",list_gvj)

Output :

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "main.py", line 5, in <module>
list_gvj.remove(1234) # remove(element) removes the element from the list
ValueError: list.remove(x): x not in list

del( ) in a List :

del( ) function is used to delete the element in the list by its index.

Let’s see with an example of how it’s different from the remove method.

list_gvj = [ 1, 2, 12, 45, 789, "raj" ]

print ("Initial list :",list_gvj)     # prints the above list

del(list_gvj[5])                     # del ( list_gvj [ index ] ) removes the element at that index                        

print ("Final list :",list_gvj)

Output :

Initial list : [1, 2, 12, 45, 789, 'raj']
Final list : [1, 2, 12, 45, 789]

Certainly, what if the element is not present in the list?

Therefore giving an index -> 34 which is out of range.

list_gvj = [ 1, 2, 12, 45, 789, "raj" ]

del(list_gvj[34])                     # del ( list_gvj [ index ] ) removes the element at that index 
                                    # index 34 is out of range so raises error.
print ("Final list :",list_gvj)

Output:

Traceback (most recent call last):
File "main.py", line 3, in <module>
del (list_gvj[34]) # del ( list_gvj [ index ] ) removes the element at that index 
IndexError: list assignment index out of range

Also, read:

• Convert a Python list into a Pandas DataFrame

 

pop() in a List :

pop( ) method is same as del( ).

The main difference is,

• del( ) does not return any value.
• pop( ) returns the deleted element in the list.

Syntax:  list. pop( index )

list_gvj = [ 1, 2, 12, 45, 789, "raj" ]

print ("initial list :",list_gvj)

del_value = list_gvj.pop(5)                     # index 5 is given

print ("Deleted value is : ",del_value)

print ("Final list :",list_gvj)

Output :

initial list : [1, 2, 12, 45, 789, 'raj']
Deleted value is : raj
Final list : [1, 2, 12, 45, 789]

Note: list.pop( ) deletes the last element in the list

Concluding the topic, these are the different ways to remove or delete elements in the list. So I hope, you have understood what is the differences between Python remove, del and pop methods.