A list of dictionaries can be sorted using the keys in the dictionaries, while a list of tuples can be sorted using the tuple's index.
Sorted list of dictionaries
This example sorts a list of dictionaries using the section and title keys.
# List of dictionaries
items = [
{'section': 'cars', 'link': '/cars/tesla.html', 'title': 'Tesla charging'},
{'section': 'cars', 'link': '/cars/mustang-races.html', 'title': 'Mustang races'},
{'section': 'cars', 'link': '/cars/delorean.html', 'title': 'Delorean company'},
{'section': 'vans', 'link': '/vans/astro.html', 'title': 'Astro van styles'},
{'section': 'trucks', 'link': '/trucks/toyota.html', 'title': 'Toyota maintenance'},
{'section': 'trucks', 'link': '/trucks/appliances.html', 'title': 'Appliances to get'}
]
print('\nDictionaries')
for item in items:
print(f'{item["section"]:10} {item["link"]:26} {item["title"]}')
# Sort the list of dictionaries using keys
newitems = sorted(items, key=itemgetter('section', 'title'))
print('\nSorted dictionaries')
for item in newitems:
print(f'{item["section"]:10} {item["link"]:26} {item["title"]}')
The output from the above example is shown here. Notice the dictionaries are sorted alphabetically from cars to vans and the titles within each group are sorted too.
Dictionaries
cars /cars/tesla.html Tesla charging
cars /cars/mustang-races.html Mustang races
cars /cars/delorean.html Delorean company
vans /vans/astro.html Astro van styles
trucks /trucks/toyota.html Toyota maintenance
trucks /trucks/appliances.html Appliances to get
Sorted dictionaries
cars /cars/delorean.html Delorean company
cars /cars/mustang-races.html Mustang races
cars /cars/tesla.html Tesla charging
trucks /trucks/appliances.html Appliances to get
trucks /trucks/toyota.html Toyota maintenance
vans /vans/astro.html Astro van styles
Sorted list of tuples
In this example, a list of tuples are sorted using the first and third indices.
items = [
('cars', '/cars/tesla.html', 'Tesla charging'),
('cars', '/cars/mustang-races.html', 'Mustang races'),
('cars', '/cars/delorean.html', 'Delorean company'),
('vans', '/vans/astro.html', 'Astro van styles'),
('trucks', '/trucks/toyota.html', 'Toyota maintenance'),
('trucks', '/trucks/appliances.html', 'Appliances to get')
]
print('\nTuples')
for item in items:
print(f'{item[0]:10} {item[1]:26} {item[2]}')
# Sort the list of tuples using index
newitems = sorted(items, key=itemgetter(0, 2))
print('\nSorted tuples')
for item in newitems:
print(f'{item[0]:10} {item[1]:26} {item[2]}')
The output from this example is shown below. Notice the tuples are sorted alphabetically from cars to vans and the last items within each group are sorted too.
Tuples
cars /cars/tesla.html Tesla charging
cars /cars/mustang-races.html Mustang races
cars /cars/delorean.html Delorean company
vans /vans/astro.html Astro van styles
trucks /trucks/toyota.html Toyota maintenance
trucks /trucks/appliances.html Appliances to get
Sorted tuples
cars /cars/delorean.html Delorean company
cars /cars/mustang-races.html Mustang races
cars /cars/tesla.html Tesla charging
trucks /trucks/appliances.html Appliances to get
trucks /trucks/toyota.html Toyota maintenance
vans /vans/astro.html Astro van styles
This example sorts a list of tuples by date. The date is the last item in the tuple.
items = [
('cars', '/cars/tesla.html', 'Tesla charging', 'November 21, 2020'),
('cars', '/cars/mustang-races.html', 'Mustang races', 'June 3, 2019'),
('cars', '/cars/delorean.html', 'Delorean company', 'August 19, 2020'),
('vans', '/vans/astro.html', 'Astro van styles', 'October 5, 2022'),
('trucks', '/trucks/toyota.html', 'Toyota maintenance', 'January 3, 2023'),
('trucks', '/trucks/appliances.html', 'Appliances to get', 'January 10, 2023')
]
print('\nTuples')
for item in items:
print(f'{item[0]:10} {item[1]:26} {item[2]:20} {item[3]}')
# Sort the list of tuples using index
newitems = sorted(items, key=lambda x: datetime.strptime(x[3], '%B %d, %Y'))
print('\nSorted tuples')
for item in newitems:
print(f'{item[0]:10} {item[1]:26} {item[2]:20} {item[3]}')
The output is shown below. Notice the tuples are sorted by date from oldest to newest.
Tuples
cars /cars/tesla.html Tesla charging November 21, 2020
cars /cars/mustang-races.html Mustang races June 3, 2019
cars /cars/delorean.html Delorean company August 19, 2020
vans /vans/astro.html Astro van styles October 5, 2022
trucks /trucks/toyota.html Toyota maintenance January 3, 2023
trucks /trucks/appliances.html Appliances to get January 10, 2023
Sorted tuples
cars /cars/mustang-races.html Mustang races June 3, 2019
cars /cars/delorean.html Delorean company August 19, 2020
cars /cars/tesla.html Tesla charging November 21, 2020
vans /vans/astro.html Astro van styles October 5, 2022
trucks /trucks/toyota.html Toyota maintenance January 3, 2023
trucks /trucks/appliances.html Appliances to get January 10, 2023
