How to Delete a Record in Python

In the realm of Python programming, it’s often the case that programmers need to delete a record or data from a particular data structure or database.

Understanding how to do this effectively is an essential skill. In this tutorial, we will look at how to delete a record in Python using various techniques.

Step 1: Deleting a Record from a List

The easiest and most direct method of deleting a record in Python involves using the del statement against a list. For instance:

1 2	myList = ['A','B','C','D'] del myList[1]

In this example, ‘B’ – the second item in the list at index 1 – is removed.

Step 2: Deleting a Record from a Dictionary

To delete a record from a Python dictionary, you can also use the del statement. Consider this example:

1 2	myDict = {'key1': 'value1', 'key2': 'value2'} del myDict['key1']

Here, the pair with ‘key1’ is removed from the dictionary.

Step 3: Deleting a Record from a Set

With a set, the remove() or discard() methods can be used to delete a record. Example:

1 2	mySet = {'A', 'B', 'C', 'D'} mySet.remove('B')

In the above example, ‘B’ is removed from the set. If one tries to remove a non-existent item, remove() will raise an error, whereas discard() won’t.

Step 4: Deleting a Record from a DataFrame Using Pandas

If you’re working with a Pandas DataFrame, you can use the drop() function. Below is a simple DataFrame for illustration:

import pandas as pd

data = {"col1": [1, 2, 3, 4, 5], "col2": ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D', 'E']}

df = pd.DataFrame(data)

df = df.drop(1)

This deletes the second row (at index 1) from the DataFrame.

Full Code

import pandas as pd

myList = ['A', 'B', 'C', 'D']

myDict = {'key1': 'value1', 'key2': 'value2'}

mySet = {'A', 'B', 'C', 'D'}

print(myList)

print(myDict)

# Deleting from list

del myList[1]

# Deleting from dictionary

del myDict['key1']

# Deleting from set

mySet.remove('B')

# Deleting from DataFrame