The Power of Built-In Functions in Python for Beginners

Python offers several ways to sort data, including built-in functions that are highly efficient and can handle complex scenarios. In this tutorial, we’ll discuss sorting lists alphabetically using the …

Updated October 8, 2023

Sorting Lists Alphabetically

In Python, you can easily sort a list of strings or numbers by using the sorted() function. Here is an example of how to use it:

fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
sorted_fruits = sorted(fruits)
print(sorted_fruits)

This will output ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry'].

You can also sort a list in reverse order by using the reverse parameter:

fruits = ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry']
sorted_fruits = sorted(fruits, reverse=True)
print(sorted_fruits)

This will output ['cherry', 'banana', 'apple'].

Sorting Strings in a List of Dictionaries

Let’s say we have a list of dictionaries where each dictionary represents a product and the key-value pairs represent properties. Here is an example:

products = [{'name': 'Apple', 'price': 10}, {'name': 'Banana', 'price': 20}, {'name': 'Cherry', 'price': 15}]
sorted_products = sorted(products, key=lambda x: x['name'])
print(sorted_products)

This will output [{'name': 'Apple', 'price': 10}, {'name': 'Banana', 'price': 20}, {'name': 'Cherry', 'price': 15}].

Using Sort() Method in a Loop

You can also sort a list by using the list.sort() method within a loop:

fruits = ['banana', 'apple', 'cherry']
for i in range(len(fruits)):
    for j in range(i+1, len(fruits)):
        if fruits[i] > fruits[j]:
            fruits[i], fruits[j] = fruits[j], fruits[i]
print(fruits)

This will output ['apple', 'banana', 'cherry'].

Remember, when working with more complex sorting scenarios, it may be beneficial to use the sorted() function combined with the list.sort() method instead of looping to sort lists in Python.