UnnecessaryDelete.qhelp

<!DOCTYPE qhelp PUBLIC
  "-//Semmle//qhelp//EN"
  "qhelp.dtd">
<qhelp>
<overview>
<p>Passing a local variable to a <code>del</code> statement results in that
variable being removed from the local namespace. When exiting a function all
local variables are deleted, so it is unnecessary to explicitly delete variables
in such cases.</p>

</overview>
<recommendation>
<p>Remove the <code>del</code> statement.</p>

</recommendation>
<example>
  <p>
    In the function below, the variable <code>x</code> is assigned a value that
    is used for a calculation, and is then explicitly deleted before the
    function exits. In this case, the delete statement can be removed without
    changing the behavior of the function.
  </p>
<sample src="UnnecessaryDelete.py" />


</example>


<references>

  <li>Python: <a href="https://docs.python.org/2/reference/simple_stmts.html#the-del-statement">The 'del' statement</a>.</li>
  <li>Python/C API Reference Manual: <a href="https://docs.python.org/2.0/api/refcounts.html">Reference counts</a>.</li>
</references>
</qhelp>