Python List pop() Method | Novice Tutorial

Description

The pop() method removes an element from a list (default is the last element) and returns the value of that element.

Syntax

The syntax for the pop() method is:

list.pop()

Parameters

• index -- Optional parameter, the index value of the element to be removed, cannot exceed the list length. Defaults to index=-1, removing the last list value.

Return Value

This method returns the element object removed from the list.

Example

The following example demonstrates how to use the pop() method:

Example 1

#!/usr/bin/python3

list1 = ['Google', '', 'Taobao']
list1.pop()
print ("List now : ", list1)
list1.pop(1)
print ("List now : ", list1)

The output of the above example is:

List now :  ['Google', '']
List now :  ['Google']

Here is an example of popping an element and returning the popped element:

#!/usr/bin/python3

list1 = ['Google', '', 'Taobao']
pop_obj=list1.pop(1)
print ("Popped element : ", pop_obj)
print ("List now : ", list1)

The output of the above example is:

Popped element :  
List now :  ['Google', 'Taobao']

Error Example

The following example demonstrates an error when popping an element from an empty list:

#!/usr/bin/python3

list1 = []
pop_obj=list1.pop()
print ("Popped element : ", pop_obj)
print ("List now : ", list1)

The output of the above example is:

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "test.py", line to 4, in 
    pop_obj=list1.pop()
IndexError: pop from empty list