What does pandas dataframe.pop do

pandas.DataFrame.pop()

The pop() method in Pandas removes a specified column from a DataFrame and returns it as a Series object.

Key points:

Modifies the original DataFrame: Unlike some other methods, pop() changes the DataFrame in-place by removing the specified column.

Returns a Series: The removed column is returned as a Pandas Series object.

Raises KeyError: If the specified column doesn't exist, a KeyError is raised.

Python

import pandas as pd

data = {'col1': [1, 2, 3], 'col2': [4, 5, 6], 'col3': [7, 8, 9]}

df = pd.DataFrame(data)

# Remove the column 'col2' and store it in a Series

popped_column = df.pop('col2')

print(df)  # Output:

          col1  col3

0         1     7

1         2     8

2         3     9

print(popped_column)  # Output:

0    4

1    5

2    6

Important Note:

For removing multiple columns, it's generally more efficient to use the drop() method instead of multiple pop() calls.