Question about idioms for clearing a list

[André]

Ed Singleton wrote:
>
> I'm a fairly average programmer (better than average compared to my
> immediate colleagues).  I've read every tutorial I can get my hands
> on, but I have no _memory_  of ever coming across the del keyword, let
> alone that it is fundamental to Python, and I have no idea what
> collections school is.  I doubtless have read of it at some point, but
> as no importance has ever been attached to it, I have probably not
> remembered it.
>
I'm probably below average as a programmer, except when compared with
my immediate colleagues [1].  I wrote an extremely simple (albeit
non-conventional) tutorial on learning how to program with Python,
partly as a means to learn Python myself.  (Google for rur-ple if you
are curious.)  I introduced del shortly after I introduced lists.  I
think it is important that one learns at least a couple of example
usage of every Python keyword as soon as possible, before attempting to
write complicated programs.  The same probably goes for built-in
functions.

André

[1] Because I have none.