Sorting data structures in Python and C#

In this post, we are going to discuss diferent ways of sorting arrays in C# and Python. You’ll find links to the examples to an online IDE container (repl.it)

Python

The sorted() built-in method sorts any sequence (list, tuple, string, etc) and always returns a list with the elements in sorted manner, without modifying the original sequence.

Example:

# List
a = [5,2,3,1,4]
print(sorted(a))
# Output: [1,2,3,4,5]

# Tuple
a = (5,2,3,1,4)
print(sorted(a))
# Output: [1,2,3,4,5]

# Dictionary
a = {5:1, 2:2, 3:3, 1:4, 4:5}
print(sorted(a))
# Output: [1,2,3,4,5]

# String
a = '52314'
print(sorted(a))
# Output: [1,2,3,4,5]

Another way to sort a list of elements is using the sort() method. This mehtod only works for list data structures and it modifies the original list.

Example:

# List
a = [5,2,3,1,4]
a.sort()
print(a)
#Output: [1,2,3,4,5]

The NumPy library provides you with an array data structure that holds some benefits over Python lists, such as: being more compact, faster access in reading and writing items, being more convenient and more efficient.

The NumPy module has a sort() method.

Example:

import numpy as np

a = np.array([5,2,3,1,4])
print(np.sort(a))

#Output: [1 2 3 4 5]

C#

Sort a list of integers

In this example, we will use the List<T>.Sort Method.

It sorts the elements or a portion of the elements in the List<T> using either the specified or default IComparer<T> implementation or a provided Comparison<T> delegate to compare list elements.

Example:

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

namespace array_sorting
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            var unsorted_list = new List<int> { 5, 2, 3, 1, 4 };
            var sorted_list = new List<int>();

            sorted_list = new List<int>(unsorted_list); // make a copy first if you need to
            sorted_list.Sort();


            foreach (int i in unsorted_list)
            {
                Console.Write(i);
            }

            Console.Write("\n");


            foreach (int i in sorted_list)
            {
                Console.Write(i);
            }

        }
    }
}

// Output: 
// 52314
// 12345

Sorting an Array of integers

The Sort(Array) method sorts the elements in an entire one-dimensional Array using the IComparable implementation of each element of the Array.

In the following example, we are sorting the values in an Array using the default comparer.

using System;

namespace array_sorting
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {

            int[] unsorted_array = {5, 2, 3, 1, 4};
            var sorted_array = new int[5];

            Array.Copy(unsorted_array, sorted_array, unsorted_array.Length);
            Array.Sort(sorted_array);

            foreach (int i in unsorted_array)
            {
                Console.Write(i);
            }

            Console.Write("\n");

            foreach (int i in sorted_array)
            {
                Console.Write(i);
            }

        }
    }
}

// Output:
// 52314
// 12345