Understanding Lambda Functions Before we dive into sorting, let's briefly understand lambda functions. In Python, a lambda function is a small anonymous function defined with the lambda keyword. It can take any number of arguments but can only have one expression. The syntax is simple: # Example of a lambda function add = lambda x, y: x + y print(add(3, 5)) # Output: 8 Lambda functions are often used for short, simple operations, and they are especially handy when sorting data.
Method 1: Using the sorted() function with Lambda The sorted() function allows us to use a lambda function as the sorting key. For example, let's sort the list of numbers in descending order: sorted_num_desc = sorted(nums, key=lambda x: x, reverse=True) print(sorted_num_desc) # Output: [9, 7, 4, 2, 1] Here, the lambda function lambda x: x is equivalent to the identity function, meaning it returns the number itself. The key parameter is optional in this case, but it's useful for custom sorting criteria.
Method 2: Using the sort() method with Lambda If you want to sort the list in place, you can use the sort() method of the list: nums.sort(key=lambda x:
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