Python Sorting Basics
can you teach me all about sorting in python?
Certainly! Sorting is a fundamental concept in programming, and Python provides powerful tools and
methods to sort data efficiently. Let's break it down step by step.
1. Basic Sorting with `sorted()` and `.sort()`
`sorted()` function: This returns a new sorted list from the elements of any iterable (e.g., list,
tuple, string).
python
numbers = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9]
sorted_numbers = sorted(numbers)
print(sorted_numbers) # Output: [1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 9]
`.sort()` method: This sorts a list in place, modifying the original list.
python
numbers = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9]
numbers.sort()
print(numbers) # Output: [1, 1, 3, 4, 5, 9]
2. Custom Sorting with `key`
You can sort data using a custom key by providing a function or a lambda function to the `key`
parameter.
Sorting by length of strings:
python
words = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
sorted_words = sorted(words, key=len)
print(sorted_words) # Output: ['date', 'apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
Sorting by custom criteria (e.g., by length, then alphabetically):
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python
words = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
sorted_words = sorted(words, key=lambda word: (len(word), word))
print(sorted_words) # Output: ['date', 'apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
3. Reverse Sorting
Both `sorted()` and `.sort()` have a `reverse` parameter to sort in descending order.
python
numbers = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9]
sorted_numbers = sorted(numbers, reverse=True)
print(sorted_numbers) # Output: [9, 5, 4, 3, 1, 1]
4. Sorting Complex Data Structures
Sorting a list of tuples (e.g., sorting by the second element):
python
items = [(1, 'one'), (3, 'three'), (2, 'two')]
sorted_items = sorted(items, key=lambda x: x[1])
print(sorted_items) # Output: [(1, 'one'), (3, 'three'), (2, 'two')]
Sorting dictionaries: By default, dictionaries are unordered (pre-Python 3.7). You can sort by
keys or values.
python
data = {'apple': 2, 'banana': 3, 'cherry': 1}
sorted_by_key = sorted(data.items())
print(sorted_by_key) # Output: [('apple', 2), ('banana', 3), ('cherry', 1)]
sorted_by_value = sorted(data.items(), key=lambda item: item[1])
print(sorted_by_value) # Output: [('cherry', 1), ('apple', 2), ('banana', 3)]
5. Advanced Sorting Techniques
Multi-level sorting: Using tuples in the `key` to sort by multiple criteria.
python
people = [("Alice", 25), ("Bob", 30), ("Charlie", 25), ("David", 30)]
sorted_people = sorted(people, key=lambda x: (x[1], x[0]))
print(sorted_people) # Output: [('Alice', 25), ('Charlie', 25), ('Bob', 30),
('David', 30)]
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Sorting with custom order: If you want to sort based on a custom sequence, you can use a
dictionary to map values to their desired order.
python
priority = {'low': 3, 'medium': 2, 'high': 1}
tasks = ['low', 'medium', 'high', 'medium']
sorted_tasks = sorted(tasks, key=lambda x: priority[x])
print(sorted_tasks) # Output: ['high', 'medium', 'medium', 'low']
6. Sorting with `key=lambda name: (-len(name), name[::-1])`
This expression combines two sorting criteria:
`-len(name)` sorts by length in descending order (longer names first).
`name[::-1]` sorts alphabetically by the reversed string if lengths are equal.
Example:
python
names = ["Alice", "Bob", "Charlie", "Dave"]
sorted_names = sorted(names, key=lambda name: (-len(name), name[::-1]))
print(sorted_names) # Output: ['Charlie', 'Alice', 'Dave', 'Bob']
Here, `Charlie` and `Alice` are both sorted by length first (descending), and then `Alice` appears
before `Dave` because the reversed 'ecilA' comes before 'evaD'.
7. Performance Considerations
Timsort: Python's built-in sort algorithm (`sorted()` and `.sort()`) is Timsort, which is a hybrid
sorting algorithm derived from merge sort and insertion sort. It has a time complexity of O(n log
n) and performs well on real-world data.
Stability: Python's sort is stable, meaning that when two records have equal keys, their original
order is preserved.
8. In-place vs. Out-of-place Sorting
In-place (`.sort()`): Modifies the original list.
Out-of-place (`sorted()`): Creates a new sorted list, leaving the original list unchanged.
9. Sorting in Other Contexts
Sorting strings: Strings can be sorted, treating them as sequences of characters.
python
string = "python"
sorted_string = sorted(string)
print(sorted_string) # Output: ['h', 'n', 'o', 'p', 't', 'y']
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Sorting with different data types: Sorting a list containing mixed data types can be tricky and
often results in errors unless a consistent key is provided.
10. Practice Problems
Sort a list of dictionaries by a specific key.
Sort a list of tuples by multiple criteria.
Sort a list of strings by their last letter.
Would you like to dive deeper into any of these topics or see more examples?
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