Sorting and Filtering

Sorting and filtering are fundamental data operations that are often combined to answer analytical questions. Python provides flexible tools for both: the sorted() function with custom keys enables sophisticated ordering, while comprehensions and the filter() function provide powerful selection capabilities. Mastering the combination of these operations enables you to write complex data queries that rival SQL in expressiveness. Sorting with Custom Keys Multi-Level Sorting Filter, Sort, and Slice Real data queries often combine filtering, sorting, and limiting results. The pattern is: filter with a comprehension to select relevant records, sort with sorted() to order them, then slice with [:n] to limit the result count. This pipeline approach mirrors SQL queries and is natural to read. iter