The built-in function sorted() returns a sorted list of given iterable. The sorting may be in an ascending or descending order. If the iterable is a string it sorts alphabetically if it is a number it sorts numerically. In the case of iterable which have both string and numbers that cannot sort.
sorted(iterable, key=None, reverse=False) #where iterable may be string, tuple, list,set, dictionary frozen set)
Takes three parameters. Based on the returned value of the key function,we can sort the given iterable as below
sorted(iterable, key=len)
| Parameter | Description | Required / Optional |
|---|---|---|
| iterable | A sequence (string, tuple, list) or collection (set, dictionary, frozen set) or any other iterator. | Required |
| reverse | If True, the sorted list is reversed (or sorted in descending order). Defaults to False if not provided. | Optional |
| key | A function that serves as a key for the sort comparison. Defaults to None. | Optional |
This sorted() method is similar to sort(), the difference is that sort() doesn't return any value.
| Input | Return Value |
|---|---|
| Iterable | sorted list |
# vowels list pyth 'a', 'u', 'o', 'i']
print(sorted(python_list))
# string pyth
print(sorted(python_string))
# vowels tuple pyth 'a', 'u', 'o', 'i')
print(sorted(python_tuple))
Output:
['a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u'] ['P', 'h', 'n', 'o', 't', 'y'] ['a', 'e', 'i', 'o', 'u']
# set pyth 'a', 'u', 'o', 'i'}
print(sorted(python_set, reverse=True))
# dictionary pyth 1, 'a': 2, 'u': 3, 'o': 4, 'i': 5}
print(sorted(python_dict, reverse=True))
# frozen set
frozen_set = frozenset(('e', 'a', 'u', 'o', 'i'))
print(sorted(frozen_set, reverse=True))
Output:
['u', 'o', 'i', 'e', 'a'] ['u', 'o', 'i', 'e', 'a'] ['u', 'o', 'i', 'e', 'a']
# take the second element for sort
def take_second(elem):
return elem[1]
# random list
randomnum = [(2, 2), (3, 4), (4, 1), (1, 3)]
# sort list with key
sorted_keylist = sorted(randomnum, key=take_second)
# print list
print('Sorted list:', sorted_keylist)
Output:
Sorted list: [(4, 1), (2, 2), (1, 3), (3, 4)]
# Nested list of student's info in a Science Olympiad
# List elements: (Student's Name, Marks out of 100, Age)
student_list = [
('Alison', 50, 18),
('Terence', 75, 12),
('David', 75, 20),
('Jimmy', 90, 22),
('John', 45, 12)
]
Output:
[('Jimmy', 90, 22), ('Terence', 75, 12), ('David', 75, 20), ('Alison', 50, 18), ('John', 45, 12)]
