Using the python sorted function?

Question

I am using the Python sorted function in order to sort a multidimensional list which has many entries.

Example:

sorted_list = sorted(list_not_sorted, key=lambda x:x[1], reverse=True)

Is there a way to sort it based on the size of the numbers?

Lets say I have the following list:

[
[John,973],
[Jim,99],
[Jason,912345]
]

Using that code will sort it like this:

[
[Jim,99],
[John,973]
[Jason,912345],
]

However I want it sorted like this:

[
[Jason,912345],
[John,973]
[Jim,99],
]

Is there any way to do this with this function?

Question has been edited for clarity!

Answer 1

So close!

sorted_list = sorted(list_not_sorted, key=lambda x:x[1], reverse=True)

x[2] is out of bounds (as your inner lists only have 2 items, and this is accessing the third). Since you want to key off the number, you want x[1] .

>>> data = [['John', 973], ['Jim', 99], ['Jason', 912345]]
>>>
>>> sorted(data, key=lambda x:x[1], reverse=True)
[['Jason', 912345], ['John', 973], ['Jim', 99]]

Answer 2

You don't need to create a copy of your data using sorted . sort is enough.

>>> l
[['John', 973], ['Jim', 99], ['Jason', 912345]]
>>> l.sort(key=lambda x:x[1], reverse=True)
>>> l
[['Jason', 912345], ['John', 973], ['Jim', 99]]

If you need lexicographic order:

>>> l.sort(key=lambda x:str(x[1]), reverse=True)