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Functions & basics

Reusable building blocks — parameters, returns, scope, and clear function design.

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Functions & basics easy

How to Use a Lambda Sort Key in Python

Sort a list of strings by length, then alphabetically, using a lambda function as the sorting key in Python.

lambda sorting sorted
Python
def sort_words(words):
    """Sort words by length, then alphabetically using a lambda key."""
    return sorted(words, key=lambda word: (len(word), word))

if __name__ == "__main__":
    sample_words = ["apple", "kiwi", "banana", "fig", "cherry"]
    result = sort_words(sample_words)
    
    print("Original:", sampl…
15 0 Open
Functions & basics easy

How to Use a Lambda Sorting Key in Python

Sort a list of strings by their last letter using a lambda function as the sorting key.

sorting lambda key-function
Python
def get_last_letter(word):
    return word[-1]

words = ["banana", "apple", "cherry", "date", "elderberry"]

if __name__ == "__main__":
    sorted_words = sorted(words, key=get_last_letter)
    print(sorted_words)
12 0 Open

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