How to Sort List of Strings in Python

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To sort a list of strings in Python you can use the sort() method. This method will order the list of strings in place, meaning that it will modify the original list and you won’t need to create a new list. You can also use the sorted() function to sort a list of strings, this returns a new list after sorting.

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There are a few ways to sort the list of strings in Python.

  • Sorting in alphabetical/reverse order: You can use the built-in sort() or sorted() functions to sort a list of strings in alphabetical or reverse alphabetical order.
  • Based on the length of the string character: You can use the key argument of the sort() or sorted() function to sort a list of strings based on the length of the strings.
  • Sorting the integer values in a list of strings: If all of the strings in the list can be cast to integers, you can sort the list of strings by the integer values.

1. Quick Examples of Sort List of Strings

If you are in a hurry, below are some quick examples of how to sort list of strings in Python.


# Quick examples of sort list of strings

# Example 1: Sort list of strings
technology = ['Java','Hadoop','Spark','Pandas','Pyspark','NumPy','Hyperion']
technology.sort() 

# Example 2: Sort list by length of strings 
technology.sort(key = len)

# Example 3: Sort string by integer value use key as int
strings = ['12','34','5','26','76','18','63']
strings.sort(key = int)

# Example 4: Sort string in reverse order 
technology = ['Java','Hadoop','Spark','Pandas','Pyspark','NumPy','Hyperion']
technology.sort(reverse = True)

# Example 5: Using sorted() method
sorted_list = sorted(technology)

# Example 6: Sorted string by integer value use key = int
strings = sorted(strings, key=int)

# Example 7: Sorted list of strings in descending order
technology = sorted(technology, reverse=True)

2. Python Sort List of Strings

The sort() function is used to sort the list of strings in ascending order in Python. This function modifies the original list in place and does not return a new list. For instance, using the sort() function without any parameters to sort a list of strings in ascending order.


# Use sort() method
technology = ['Java','Hadoop','Spark','Pandas','Pyspark','NumPy','Hyperion']
technology.sort() 
print("After sorting the list of strings:\n",technology)

Yields below output.

python sort list strings

3. Sort List of Strings by sorted() Method

Alternatively, you can use the python sorted() built-in function to order the technology list of stings. It returns a new list containing all the elements from the technology list in sorted order.

In the below example, the sorted() function is used to create a new sorted list (sorted_list) from the original list (technology). The original list remains unchanged.


# Using sorted() method
technology = ['Java','Hadoop','Spark','Pandas','Pyspark','NumPy','Hyperion']
sorted_list = sorted(technology)
print("After sorting the list of strings:\n",sorted_list)

Yields the same output as above.

4. Sort List by Length of Strings

To sort a list of strings based on the length of the strings, you can use the len() function as the key for the sort() function. For example, the list is sorted based on the length of the strings, with the shortest string coming first and the longest string coming last.


# Sort list by length of strings 
technology = ['Java','Hadoop','Spark','Pandas','Pyspark','NumPy','Hyperion']
technology.sort(key = len)
print("After sorting the list of strings by length:\n", technology)

# Output:
# After sorting the list of strings by length:
#  ['Java', 'Spark', 'NumPy', 'Hadoop', 'Pandas', 'Pyspark', 'Hyperion']

5. Sort Strings Using a Function

Similarly, If you want to sort a list of strings based on the integer value of the strings, you can convert the strings to integers by using int() function as the key for the sort() method or sorted() function. This sorts the list by numbers.


# Sort string by integer value use key as int
strings = ['12','34','5','26','76','18','63']
strings.sort(key = int)
print("After sorting the list of strings by integer value:\n",strings)

# Sorted string by integer value use key=int
strings = sorted(strings, key=int)
print("After sorting the list of strings by integer value:\n",strings)

# Output:
# After sorting the list of strings by integer value:
#  ['5', '12', '18', '26', '34', '63', '76']

6. Sort Strings in Descending Order

To sort a list of strings in descending or reverse order, you can pass the reverse=True argument to the sort() method or sorted() function. Descending order is the opposite of ascending order where elements are arranged from highest to lowest value (for string Z to A).


# Sort in descending order 
technology = ['Java','Hadoop','Spark','Pandas','Pyspark','NumPy','Hyperion']
technology.sort(reverse = True)
print("Sorted list in descending order:\n", technology)

# Sorted list of strings in descending order
technology = ['Java','Hadoop','Spark','Pandas','Pyspark','NumPy','Hyperion']
technology = sorted(technology, reverse=True)
print("Sorted list in descending order:\n", technology)

# Output:
# Sorted list in descending order:
#  ['Spark', 'Pyspark', 'Pandas', 'NumPy', 'Java', 'Hyperion', 'Hadoop'

Frequently Asked Questions on Sort List of Strings in Python

How do I sort a list of strings in Python?

You can use either the sorted() function or the sort() method. The sorted() function creates a new sorted list, while the sort() method sorts the list in-place.

Can I sort a list of strings in descending order?

You can sort a list of strings in descending order in Python. Both the sorted() function and the sort() method have a reverse parameter that you can set to True to achieve descending order.

How can I sort a list of strings based on a custom criterion?

You can use the key parameter with a custom function to sort the list based on a specific criterion. To sort a list of strings based on a custom criterion, you can use the key parameter of the sorted() function or the sort() method. The key parameter allows you to specify a function that calculates a value for each element, and the sorting is then based on those values.

How do I sort strings in descending order based on a custom criterion?


To sort strings in descending order based on a custom criterion, you can use the key parameter in conjunction with the sorted() function or the sort() method. The key parameter allows you to specify a function that calculates a value for each element, and the sorting is then based on those values.

Can I sort a list of strings in-place without creating a new list?

You can sort a list of strings in-place without creating a new list using the sort() method. The sort() method modifies the original list directly. For example, the sort() method is called on the my_list object, and it sorts the elements of the list in ascending order. If you want to sort the list in descending order, you can use the reverse=True parameter

Conclusion

In this article, I have explained how to sort the list of strings in Python, first, I have covered using list.sort() function and Python built-in function sorted().

Happy Learning !!

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