What is the difference between "del" and "remove" in Python?

Question

Jayant Kumar · Accepted Answer

In Python, del and remove() are used to remove elements from a list, but they have some key differences:
Index vs. Value:

del: The del statement is used to remove an element from a list based on its index.
remove(): The remove() method is used to remove the first occurrence of a specific value from a list.

Usage:

del: The del statement is a general-purpose statement used to delete an element or slice from a list, or to delete a variable. It can be used to remove elements from a list based on their index.
remove(): The remove() method is specific to lists and is used to remove an element from the list based on its value.

In-Place Modification:

del: The del statement modifies the list in-place by removing the element(s) specified by the index(es). It does not return a new list.
remove(): The remove() method modifies the list in-place by removing the first occurrence of the specified value. It does not return a new list.

Here's an example to illustrate the difference between del and remove():
my_list = [1, 2, 3, 2]

del my_list[1]  # Removes the element at index 1 (value: 2)
print(my_list)  # Output: [1, 3]

my_list.remove(2)  # Removes the first occurrence of value 2
print(my_list)  # Output: [1, 3]

In this example, del my_list[1] removes the element at index 1 from the list, resulting in [1, 3]. On the other hand, my_list.remove(2) removes the first occurrence of the value 2 from the list, resulting in the same list [1, 3].
It's important to note that if the value specified in remove() does not exist in the list, it will raise a ValueError. You can use a conditional statement or the in operator to check if the value exists in the list before calling remove().
When deciding between del and remove(), consider whether you want to remove an element based on its index or its value. Use del when you know the index of the element you want to remove, and use remove() when you know the value of the element you want to remove.
It's worth mentioning that both del and remove() modify the list in-place and do not return a new list.

What is the difference between "del" and "remove" in Python?

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What is the difference between "del" and "remove" in Python?

Jayant Kumar @jayantkumar314

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