How to Sort Data in Python

from typing import Any, TypeVar, Protocol, Sequence, Iterable

T = TypeVar("T")
Comparable = TypeVar("Comparable", bound="Comparable")

class Sortable(Protocol):
    def __lt__(self, other: Any) -> bool: ...

S = TypeVar("S", bound=Sortable)

def sort_data(data: Sequence[S], *, reverse: bool = False) -> list[S]:
    """Return a new sorted list (does not modify the input)."""
    return sorted(data, reverse=reverse)


def sort_any(data: Iterable[Any], *, reverse: bool = False) -> list[Any]:
    """Fallback for mixed types; coerce failures to str for display.""" 
    items = list(data)
    try:
        return sorted(items, reverse=reverse)
    except TypeError:
        return sorted(items, key=str, reverse=reverse)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    numbers = [3, 1, 2]
    words = ["banana", "apple", "cherry"]

    print("Numbers ascending:", sort_data(numbers))
    print("Numbers descending:", sort_data(numbers, reverse=True))
    print("Words alphabetical:", sort_data(words))

    mixed: list[Any] = [5, "x", 2, "a"]
    print("Mixed (string fallback):", sort_any(mixed))