How to Delete a Row from a Table in Python

In this tutorial, we are going to learn how to delete a row from a table in Python. The Python language provides several ways to achieve this task by using lists, pandas DataFrame, and more. But in this tutorial, we’ll specifically use pandas, which provides a robust set of functions to manipulate data stored in DataFrame.

What is Pandas in Python?

Pandas is a popular Python library for Data Analysis. It provides several flexible data manipulation tools and makes working with data in Python far easier. One of the primary objects in pandas is the DataFrame, which you can imagine as a relational data table, with rows and columns.

Step 1: Importing Essential Libraries

To perform any data manipulation operation in Python using pandas, you must first import the library. To import pandas, you may use the following code:

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import pandas as pd

Step 2: Defining the Data

Here, we will create a simple pandas DataFrame from a dictionary.

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data = {'Name':['Adam', 'Bob', 'Carl', 'Dean'],
        'Age':[20, 21, 19, 18]}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)

Step 3: Deleting a Row

To delete a row, we use the drop function in pandas. Here’s how to do it:

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df = df.drop(1)

This will delete the row at index 1. Remember that pandas use zero-based indexing, so the first row is at index 0, and so on.

Step 4: Displaying the Updated DataFrame

To see the result, you can display the DataFrame.

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print(df)

Here’s the full code:

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import pandas as pd
 
# Defining the data
data = {'Name':['Adam', 'Bob', 'Carl', 'Dean'],
        'Age':[20, 21, 19, 18]}
df = pd.DataFrame(data)
 
# Deleting a row
df = df.drop(1)
 
# Displaying the DataFrame
print(df)

Output:

   Name  Age
0  Adam   20
2  Carl   19
3  Dean   18

Conclusion

In conclusion, Python’s Pandas library provides a powerful and intuitive way of managing and manipulating data. By learning how to search, add, and delete data, we can create more complex data manipulations to meet our program’s needs. As always, practice is key. So keep experimenting, and soon these operations will become second nature.