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NumPy: What's the best way to remove the last element from 1 dimensional array?

Given a NumPy one dimensional array, we have to remove the last element from it.
Submitted by Pranit Sharma, on March 08, 2023

Removing the last element from NumPy 1D array

Suppose we are given a 1D array and we need to remove the last element from it.

Since numpy arrays have a fixed size, we cannot remove an element in place. Hence, we cannot use the del keyword.

We can see that the del keyword does not delete the last element of a NumPy array.

Example

# Import numpy
import numpy as np

# Creating a numpy array
arr = np.array([1,2,3,4,5])

# Display original array
print("Original array:\n",arr,"\n")

# Deleting last element
del arr[-1]

# Display result
print("Result:\n",arr,"\n")

Output

To remove the last element from 1 dimensional array, we need to create a new view of the array containing all elements except the last one using the slice notation.

However, a view shares the data with the original array, so if one is modified so is the other.

Let us understand with the help of an example,

Python code to remove the last element from 1 dimensional array

# Import numpy
import numpy as np

# Creating a numpy array
arr = np.array([1,2,3,4,5])

# Display original array
print("Original array:\n",arr,"\n")

# Deleting last element
res = arr[:-1]
arr = res

# Display result
print("Result:\n",arr,"\n")

Output

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