How to Clear an Array or List in Python

Python programming maintains a certain ease of use, partly due to how it handles data and data types. One of these data types, the list, represents a collection of data values similar to an array in other programming languages. Python comes equipped with quite a few functions that tie into lists or use lists as part of their functionality. You can also easily delete parts of a list or entire lists using built-in functions, such as the "del" function.

Things You'll Need

• Python Interpreter

Instructions

1. Create a list and populate it with a few items:

   >>>x = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]

2. Delete portions of the list using the "del" keyword. This function can delete single items, or multiple items in a range:

   >>>del x[0] //lists in Python are zero-indexed
   >>>x
   [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
   >>>del x[2:4]
   >>>x
   [2, 3, 6, 7]

3. Delete an entire list using the "del" keyword:

   >>>del x
   >>>x
   Traceback (most recent call last):
   File "<stdin>", line 1, in <module>
   NameError: name 'x' is not defined

References

• Python v2.7.2 Documentation: Data Structures