How to use Select to exclude a single element which I can control?

Question

I have code which inserts an expression into lists that I need to remove. I can insert anything I want, a string, variable, or number, into the lists. Suppose I insert the number 13 as my blacklisted element and have a list like

l={12, 14 y, 13, 13 x, 13 x -y}

I then implement

Select[l, # != 13 &]

but the output is

My desired output in this case would have been

{12, 14 y, 13 x, 13 x -y}

I've created a working solution that doesn't feel as elegant as it could be, with now a string blacklist element "13"

Select[{12, 14 y, "13", 13 x, 13 x - y}, Not@StringMatchQ[ToString[#], "13"] &]

which gives the desired output. Is it possible to refine the original attempt at a solution to work a bit more simply?

Select[l, !MatchQ[#, 13] &] ] is what you're looking for... Your own approach can be modified by using UnsameQ or =!= instead of != which won't evaluate. — rm -rf, Feb 19 '14 at 18:26
I'm sure this is a duplicate, but the closest I can find is Evaluating an If condition to yield True/False which explains that == can remain unevaluated while === will always evaluate. — rm -rf, Feb 19 '14 at 18:32
Thanks, man =!= instead of != (which surprisingly has an <esc ! = esc> nice not-equal look to it). It's the little things sometimes. — Steve, Feb 19 '14 at 18:34
I am closing this question. The direct application of DeleteCases is "easily found in the documentation" leaving the nontrivial aspect the behavior of Unequal, which is largely covered in R.M's referenced answer. I shall also add links to some related questions. — Mr.Wizard, Feb 19 '14 at 21:09
Related: (1290), (16161), (22907), and conversely: (15907), (38851) — Mr.Wizard, Feb 19 '14 at 21:21

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 19 '14 at 20:56

2

More straigthforward than looking for elements that do not match criteria would be to delete those that match them:

l = {12, 14 y, 13, 13 x, 13 x -y} ; 

DeleteCases[l, 13]
DeleteCases[l, 13 | 14 y]

{12, 14 y, 13 x, 12 x - y}
{12, 13 x, 12 x - y}

Am I correct or have I missed the point again? ;P

answered Feb 19 '14 at 20:56

Kuba

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forests and trees! this is by far the most obvious way to do it – Mike Honeychurch Feb 19 '14 at 20:59

How to use Select to exclude a single element which I can control?

1 Answers1