Algorithms & data structures
Classic patterns — search, sort, stacks, queues, and practical complexity-aware code.
Stable merge two lists by custom comparator in Python
Merge two lists into one sorted output using a custom comparator while maintaining the original order of equal elements.
from functools import cmp_to_key
def compare(x, y):
# Custom comparator: sorts by length first, then by original index for stability
if len(x) != len(y):
return len(x) - len(y)
return 0 # Equal keys preserve original order (stable)
def merge_stable(left, right, cmp_func):
result = []
i =…Stable sort preserving equal order demo in Python
Demonstrates Python's stable sort, showing that elements with equal sort keys retain their original relative order.
from operator import itemgetter
def stable_sort_demo():
data = [(3, "first"), (1, "second"), (3, "third"), (1, "fourth"), (2, "fifth")]
print("Original:", data)
# Sort by first element (the tuple's first value), keeping relative order of equal items
sorted_data = sorted(data, key=itemgetter(0))
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Algorithms & data structures — Python code examples
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