Difference between del, remove and pop on lists

Question

>>> a=[1,2,3]

>>> a.remove(2)

>>> a [1, 3]

>>> a=[1,2,3]

>>> del a[1]

>>> a [1, 3]

>>> a= [1,2,3]

>>> a.pop(1)

2

>>> a [1, 3]

>>>

Is there any difference between the above three methods to remove an element from a list?

Answer 1

Yes, there is a difference between all three methods that you have applied in the following code:-

• In simple terms, pop is the only one which returns the value, and remove is the only one which searches the object, while del limits itself to a simple deletion 

• remove() method:-

This method is used for deleting the first occurrence of the number mentioned in its argument.

a=[1,2,3]

a.remove(2)

a

In You code, you have written ‘2’ in the argument and number 2’s first occurrence is at index 1, so it has been deleted and the rest list is printed as it is.

• delete() method:-

Delete method deletes all the elements in a specified range from index “a” to index “z”.

a=[1,2,3]

del a[1]

a

In your code, you have mentioned index 1 so it has deleted the value at index 1 which is 2 and returned you the rest list.

• pop() method:-

pop() method deletes the elements at the position mentioned in its arguments.

     a [1, 3]

     a= [1,2,3]

     a.pop(1)

To know more about this you can have a look at the following video tutorial:-