Del inside a Function

Python Help
1

Hi. Is the del function unusable inside a function? As the below code produces an error:

my_list = ['Mary','had', 'a', 'little', 'lamb']

def my_list (my_list):
    del my_list [3]
    my_list[3] = 'ram'
        
print(my_list(my_list))
2

If you write def my_list (my_list):, what do you think this should mean? When you write print(my_list(my_list)), what do you think this should mean? Specifically: what should my_list mean each time it appears in this line of the code? Should it be different each time? Why and how do you expect that to work?

3

Any form of element changes, such as del or value changes, are not allowed inside a function? Is that right?

4

No, that is not right at all. You can do the same things inside a function as outside.

The problem is that you are trying to use the same name for the function as for the list. Things can have many names, but a name can only have one thing that it’s naming at a time. if my_list means the function, it cannot also mean the list.

5

I see… Now i tried to modify the function name to be different from the list… Why is the result None? Confused…

my_list = ['Mary','had', 'a', 'little', 'lamb']

def func_my_list(my_list):
    del my_list[3]
    my_list[3] = 'ram'
        
print(func_my_list(my_list))
6

Your function changes the list, but does not return it. print(func_my_list(my_list)) means to print whatever is returned from func_my_list when you call it with my_list. It does not mean to call func_my_list with my_list and then print my_list.

7

OOHHH… I get it now

my_list = ['Mary','had', 'a', 'little', 'lamb']

def func_my_list(my_list):
    del my_list[3]
    my_list[3] = 'ram'
        
print(func_my_list(my_list))
print(my_list)
8

Thank you!