Sorting & Searching Algorithms

# Built-in sorting
nums = [3, 1, 4, 1, 5, 9, 2, 6]
print(sorted(nums))              # returns new list
print(sorted(nums, reverse=True))

# Sort with custom key
words = ["banana", "apple", "cherry", "date"]
print(sorted(words))                    # alphabetical
print(sorted(words, key=len))           # by length
print(sorted(words, key=lambda w: w[-1]))  # by last char

# Sort objects
students = [("Alice", 85), ("Bob", 92), ("Charlie", 78)]
by_name = sorted(students, key=lambda s: s[0])
by_score = sorted(students, key=lambda s: s[1], reverse=True)
print(by_score)  # [('Bob', 92), ('Alice', 85), ('Charlie', 78)]

# Searching
numbers = [10, 20, 30, 40, 50]
print(30 in numbers)         # True (linear search)
print(numbers.index(30))     # 2

# Binary search (for sorted lists)
import bisect
sorted_nums = [1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11]
pos = bisect.bisect_left(sorted_nums, 7)
print(f"7 is at index {pos}")  # 3

# min/max with key
words = ["Python", "is", "awesome"]
longest = max(words, key=len)
print(f"Longest: {longest}")