Python List | sort method
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Python's list.sort(~) method sorts the elements of a list. The list is sorted in ascending order by default.
list.sort(~) changes the order of the list permanently.
Parameters
1. reverse | boolean | optional
If True, the sorted list is reversed (sorted in descending order). Defaults to False.
2. key | function | optional
A function to specify the sorting criteria. The function should take a single argument and return a key to use for sorting purposes. Defaults to None.
Return value
None
Examples
Basic usage
To sort the list animals in ascending order:
animals = ['cat', 'doge', 'bird']animals.sort()print(animals)
['bird', 'cat', 'doge']
Note that the list is now sorted with elements in ascending alphabetical order.
Reverse parameter
To sort the list animals in descending order:
animals = ['cat', 'doge', 'bird']animals.sort(reverse = True)print(animals)
['doge', 'cat', 'bird']
Note that the list is now sorted with elements in descending alphabetical order.
Key parameter
To sort the list numbers according to the remainder when dividing each element by 3:
# A function that returns the remainder when dividing each element by 3def modulo_3(elem): return(elem % 3)numbers = [5, 3, 4, 2]# Sort numbers list using modulo_3 function as sorting keynumbers.sort(key = modulo_3)print(numbers)
[3, 4, 5, 2]
Note that numbers list is now sorted in ascending order according to the remainder when each element is divided by 3.
