How Can I Perform Natural String Sorting in Python?

Natural String Sorting in Python

Natural sorting is an alphabetic sorting algorithm that handles string numbers and versions correctly. For example, it should sort "elm0" before "elm10" even though "10" is considered greater than "0" in mathematical comparison.

Python's native sorted() function does not perform natural sorting by default. To achieve this behavior, you can utilize the natsort library, which implements a natural sorting algorithm.

To use natsort, install it via:

pip install natsort

Then, depending on your requirements, you can either use the sorting function or a sorting key:

Sorting Function:

from natsort import natsorted

names = ['elm0', 'elm1', 'Elm2', 'elm9', 'elm10', 'Elm11', 'Elm12', 'elm13']
natsorted(names)  # ['elm0', 'elm1', 'Elm2', 'elm9', 'elm10', 'Elm11', 'Elm12', 'elm13']

Sorting Key:

from natsort import natsort_keygen

names = ['elm0', 'elm1', 'Elm2', 'elm9', 'elm10', 'Elm11', 'Elm12', 'elm13']
sort_key = natsort_keygen()
names.sort(key=sort_key)  # ['elm0', 'elm1', 'Elm2', 'elm9', 'elm10', 'Elm11', 'Elm12', 'elm13']

Alternatively, you can use natsort's case-insensitive sorting algorithms if desired:

from natsort import ns

natsorted(names, alg=ns.IGNORECASE)  # ['elm0', 'elm1', 'Elm2', 'elm9', 'elm10', 'Elm11', 'Elm12', 'elm13']

The natsort library provides a comprehensive solution for performing natural sorting in Python, handling various input formats and providing options for case-insensitive sorting as well as compatibility with operating system file system browser sorting.

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