Hey, readers! In this article, we will be focusing Python delattr() function.
Getting started with Python delattr() method
In Object Oriented Programming, a Class is an entity that wraps the attributes and the behavior and represents the same using an Object.
The feature of a class does exist in Python as it is an object-oriented language. While creating attributes and defining the behavior, we may come across situations wherein we would want to delete certain attributes of a Python class. This is when Python delattr() comes in the picture.
The delattr() function is used to delete an attribute associated with a particular class.
Syntax:
delattr(object, attribute)
Example:
class Info:
name = "AskPython"
lang = "Python"
site = "Google"
obj = Info()
print(obj.name)
delattr(Info, 'lang')
Output:
AskPython
In the above example, we have created a class Info with the attributes as follows:
- name = AskPython
- lang = Python
- site = google
Further, we have created an object of class ‘Info‘ using the below command:
obj = <classname>()
After creating an object, we have deleted the attribute – ‘lang‘ using delattr() function.
Errors and Exceptions with delattr()
After having deleted an attribute, if we try to access that particular object, the compiler will throw AttributeError.
Example:
class Info:
name = "AskPython"
lang = "Python"
site = "Google"
obj = Info()
delattr(Info, 'lang')
print(obj.lang)
Output:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
AttributeError Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-5-699f50a1e7c7> in <module>
5 obj = Info()
6 delattr(Info, 'lang')
----> 7 print(obj.lang)
AttributeError: 'Info' object has no attribute 'lang'
Deleting attribute with Python del operator
Python del operator can also be used to delete the attribute of class directly without accessing it through an object.
Syntax:
del Class-name.attribute-name
Example:
class Info:
name = "AskPython"
lang = "Python"
site = "Google"
print("Attribute before deletion:\n",Info.lang)
del Info.lang
print("Attribute after deletion:\n",Info.lang)
Output:
Attribute before deletion:
Python
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
AttributeError Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-16-9d8ed21690ff> in <module>
5 print("Attribute before deletion:\n",Info.lang)
6 del Info.lang
----> 7 print("Attribute after deletion:\n",Info.lang)
AttributeError: type object 'Info' has no attribute 'lang'
Python delattr() method v/s Python del operator
Python delattr() method is more efficient that Python del operator in terms of dynamic deletion of the attributes.
On the other side, Python del operator executes the operation at a higher speed as compared to Python delattr() method.
Conclusion
Thus, in this article, we have understood the deletion of attribute through Python delattr() method and del operator.
References
- Python delattr() method — Documentation
- Python deattr() v/s Python del operator — JournalDev