Python - Remove List Items
Remove Specified Item
The remove() method removes the specified item.
Remove "banana":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.remove("banana")
print(thislist)
If there are more than one item with the specified value, the remove() method removes the first
occurance:
Example
Remove the first occurance of "banana":
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "banana", "kiwi"]
thislist.remove("banana")
print(thislist)
Remove Specified Index
The pop() method removes the specified index.
Example
Remove the second item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.pop(1)
print(thislist)
If you do not specify the index, the pop() method removes the last item.
Example
Remove the last item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.pop()
print(thislist)
The del keyword also removes the specified index:
Example
Remove the first item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
del thislist[0]
print(thislist)
The del keyword can also delete the list completely.
Example
Delete the entire list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
del thislist
Clear the List
The clear() method empties the list.
The list still remains, but it has no content.
Example
Clear the list content:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.clear()
print(thislist)
Python - Add List Items
Append Items
To add an item to the end of the list, use the append() method:
Example
Using the append() method to append an item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.append("orange")
print(thislist)
Insert Items
To insert a list item at a specified index, use the insert() method.
The insert() method inserts an item at the specified index:
Example
Insert an item as the second position:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist.insert(1, "orange")
print(thislist)
Extend List
To append elements from another list to the current list, use the extend() method.
Example
Add the elements of tropical to thislist:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
tropical = ["mango", "pineapple", "papaya"]
thislist.extend(tropical)
print(thislist)
The elements will be added to the end of the list.
Add Any Iterable
The extend() method does not have to append lists, you can add any iterable object (tuples, sets,
dictionaries etc.).
Example
Add elements of a tuple to a list:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thistuple = ("kiwi", "orange")
thislist.extend(thistuple)
print(thislist)
Python - Change List Items
Change Item Value
To change the value of a specific item, refer to the index number:
Example
Change the second item:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1] = "blackcurrant"
print(thislist)
Change a Range of Item Values
Example
Change the second value by replacing it with two new values:
thislist = ["apple", "banana", "cherry"]
thislist[1:2] = ["blackcurrant", "watermelon"]
print(thislist)
