Difference between 'del' and 'pop' in python

In this article, you will learn about the difference between the del and pop. But before discussing the difference, you must know about the del and pop in python with their example.

What is del in python?

"del" is a built-in Python statement that is used to delete an object or a reference to an object. It can be used to delete a variable, a list item, a dictionary key-value pair, or any other object in Python.

Example:

Here's an example of how to use del to delete a list item:

Output:

[1, 2, 4, 5]

Explanation:

In this example, the del statement is used to delete the third item in the my_list list. The result is a list with only the remaining items: [1, 2, 4, 5].

What is Pop?

Python has a method called "pop" that may be applied to lists and dictionaries. When it is utilized with a list, it removes the last item from a list and then returns it. When it is utilized with a dictionary, it removes and returns the value associated with a given key.

Example:

Here's an example of how to use pop to remove the last item in a list:

Output:

[1, 2, 3, 4]
5

Explanation:

In this example, the pop method is used to remove the last item in the my_list list and return its value. The result is a list with the last item removed: [1, 2, 3, 4]. The value of the popped item (5) is stored in the popped_item variable and printed to the console.

Main Differences between Del and Pop in Python

The main difference between del and pop is that del is a statement that deletes an object or a reference to an object, while pop is a method that removes and returns a specific item from a list or dictionary. In Python, "del" can be used to delete any object, but "pop" is only applicable to lists and dictionaries. Some more information on the differences between "del" and "pop" in Python:

• The del is a statement, not a function or method, so it does not return anything. Instead, it simply removes an object from memory. If you try to access a variable or object that has been deleted with del, you will get a NameError.
• The pop is a method that can be used with lists and dictionaries. When it is utilized with a list, it removes and returns the last item by default. If you provide an index argument to pop, it will remove and return the item at that index instead. When it is utilized with a dictionary, pop removes and returns the value associated with a specified key.
• The del can be used to delete any object in Python, including variables, items in lists or dictionaries, and entire objects. Here are some examples:

Example 1:

Output:

NameError: name 'x' is not defined

Example 2:

Output:

[1, 3]

Example 3:

Output:

{'a': 1, 'c': 3}

Example 4:

• The pop is specific to lists and dictionaries, and can only be used to remove and return items from those data types. Here are some examples:

Example 1:

Output:

3
[1, 2]

Example 2:

Output:

2
[1, 3]

Example 3:

Output:

2
{'a': 1, 'c': 3}

• The del can be used to remove a slice of a list by specifying a start and end index.

Example:

Output:

[1, 4, 5]

• When you try to pop an item from an empty list, you will get an IndexError. To avoid this, you can check the length of the list before popping an item:

• If the key cannot be found in the dictionary, "pop" can also be used with a second parameter that defines a default value to return.

Example:

Output:

0

• You can also use popitem() with dictionaries to remove and return a key-value pair from the dictionary. As dictionaries are unordered, this method removes and returns any item from the dictionary. Here is an example:

Example:

Output:

('c', 3)
{'a': 1, 'b': 2}