Sort List Python

In Python, lists are mutable data structures that can be easily sorted. The sort() method allows you to sort lists either alphanumerically or numerically. This lesson will cover how to sort lists in ascending and descending order.

1. Sort List Alphanumerically

The sort() method sorts the items of a list in place and returns None. By default, it sorts the list in ascending order. For strings, this means sorting them alphabetically.

Example: Sort Alphabetically

To sort a list of fruits alphabetically:

1
2
3
thislist = ["orange", "mango", "kiwi", "pineapple", "banana"]
thislist.sort()  # Sorting the list alphabetically
print(thislist)  # Output: ['banana', 'kiwi', 'mango', 'orange', 'pineapple']

Example: Sort Numerically

To sort a list of numbers:

1
2
3
thislist = [100, 50, 65, 82, 23]
thislist.sort()  # Sorting the list numerically
print(thislist)  # Output: [23, 50, 65, 82, 100]

2. Sort Descending

To sort a list in descending order, you can use the reverse keyword argument in the sort() method. Setting reverse = True will sort the list from highest to lowest.

Example: Sort Descending Alphabetically

To sort the list of fruits in descending order:

1
2
3
thislist = ["orange", "mango", "kiwi", "pineapple", "banana"]
thislist.sort(reverse=True)  # Sorting the list in descending order
print(thislist)  # Output: ['pineapple', 'orange', 'mango', 'kiwi', 'banana']

Example: Sort Descending Numerically

To sort the list of numbers in descending order:

1
2
3
thislist = [100, 50, 65, 82, 23]
thislist.sort(reverse=True)  # Sorting the list in descending order
print(thislist)  # Output: [100, 82, 65, 50, 23]