In python, the dictionary function clear() is used to remove all the items from a dictionary. In this tutorial we’ll look at its syntax and usage along with some examples.
Before we proceed, here’s a quick refresher on dictionaries in python – Dictionaries are a collection of items used for storing key to value mappings. They are mutable and hence we can update the dictionary by adding new key-value pairs, removing existing key-value pairs, or changing the value corresponding to a key. For more, check out our guide on dictionaries and other data structures in python.
How to remove all the items from a dictionary?
The python dictionary function clear() can be used to remove all the items from a dictionary. Example, d.clear()
. You can also set the dictionary to an empty dictionary d = {}
. The difference is, d.clear()
modifies the dictionary in-place while d = {}
creates a new empty dictionary and assigns it to d
.
The clear() function
The following is the syntax for using the clear()
function:
sample_dict.clear()
Here, sample_dict is the dictionary you want to clear out.
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Parameters: The clear()
function does not take any parameters.
Returns: It does not return any value (It returns None
). It modifies the list in-place, meaning the original dictionary gets modified.
Example: Use the clear function to remove a dictionary’s items
# dictionary of a sample portfolio
shares = {'APPL': 100, 'GOOG': 50, 'MSFT': 200}
# print the dictionary
print("Shares:", shares)
# clear the dictionary
returned_val = shares.clear()
# print the dictionary
print("Shares:", shares)
print("The returned value:", returned_val)
Output:
Shares: {'APPL': 100, 'GOOG': 50, 'MSFT': 200}
Shares: {}
The returned value: None
In the above example, the clear()
dictionary function is used to remove all the items from the dictionary shares
. On printing the dictionary after the function call we see the original dictionary cleared out. As for the returned value, we see that it doesn’t actually return a value, it returns None
.
For more on python dictionary functions, refer to the python docs.
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