Sorting a List Alphabetically in Python

In Python, you can sort a list in alphabetical order using two main methods:

• sort() method — This method modifies the original list in place, meaning it changes the order of the original list and does not create a new sorted version.

• sorted() function — This function creates a new sorted list and returns it, leaving the original list unchanged.

Example using sort() method:

my_list = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
my_list.sort()  # Sort the list alphabetically
print(my_list)

The output of the above code will be:

['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date']

Example using sorted() function:

my_list = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
sorted_list = sorted(my_list)  # Create a new sorted list
print(sorted_list)

The output of this code will be:

['apple', 'banana', 'cherry', 'date']

Sorting in Reverse Alphabetical Order

If you want to sort the list in reverse alphabetical order (i.e., descending order), you can pass the reverse=True parameter to either the sort() method or the sorted() function.

Using sort() method with reverse=True:

my_list = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
my_list.sort(reverse=True)  # Sort the list in reverse alphabetical order
print(my_list)

The output will be:

['date', 'cherry', 'banana', 'apple']

Using sorted() function with reverse=True:

my_list = ["apple", "banana", "cherry", "date"]
sorted_list = sorted(my_list, reverse=True)  # Create a new sorted list in reverse order
print(sorted_list)

The output will be:

['date', 'cherry', 'banana', 'apple']

Both methods allow you to sort lists either alphabetically or in reverse alphabetical order, depending on your needs.