Removing data from a vector layer

In this recipe, we'll completely remove a feature, including its geometry and attributes, from a layer.

Getting ready

You will need the New York City museums shapefile used in other recipes, which you can download as a ZIP file from the following URL:

https://github.com/GeospatialPython/Learn/raw/master/NYC_MUSEUMS_GEO.zip

Extract this shapefile to /qgis_data/nyc.

How to do it....

All we need to do is load the layer and then delete the desired features by ID using the layer's data provider:

1. Start QGIS.

2. From the Plugins menu, select Python Console.

3. First, we load and validate the layer:

           vectorLyr =  QgsVectorLayer('/qgis_data/nyc/NYC_MUSEUMS_GEO.shp',
                                       'Museums' , "ogr") 
           vectorLyr.isValid() 
   

4. Next, we specify a Python list containing feature IDs. In this case, we have two:

           vectorLyr.dataProvider().deleteFeatures([22, 95]) 
   

How it works...

This operation couldn't be simpler and better designed...