Sorting with Pandas: A Beginner’s Guide

Pandas’ sort values method lets you sort a DataFrame by one or more columns. By default, this approach arranges the data in ascending order.

Here’s an example of how to sort a DataFrame by a single column using sort values:

Import pandas as pd 

# Create a sample DataFrame 
df = pd.DataFrame({'Name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Eve', 'Mallory', 'Peggy'], 'Age': [24, 45, 35, 23, 38]}) 

# Sort the DataFrame by the 'Age' column 
df.sort_values(by='Age')

This will return a new DataFrame with the rows sorted by the ‘Age’ column in ascending order:

Name Age 3 Mallory 23 0 Alice 24 2 Eve 35 4 Peggy 38 1 Bob 45

To arrange the data in descending order, use the ascending parameter:

df.sort_values(by='Age', ascending=False)

This will return a new DataFrame with the rows sorted by the ‘Age’ column in descending order:

Name Age 1 Bob 45 4 Peggy 38 2 Eve 35 0 Alice 24 3 Mallory 23

You can also sort by multiple columns by passing a list of column names to the by parameter. 

For example:

df.sort_values(by=['Age', 'Name'])

This will first sort the data by the ‘Age’ column in ascending order, and then by the ‘Name’ column in ascending order for any rows that have the same ‘Age’ value.

These methods allow you to order your data in a specific way based on one or more columns or the index. Here are some of examples of how to use sorting in Pandas:

.sort_index(): This method is used to sort a DataFrame or Series by its index.

# Sort a DataFrame by its index in ascending order
df.sort_index()

# Sort a DataFrame by its index in descending order
df.sort_index(ascending=False).

.sort_values(): This method is used to sort a DataFrame or Series by one or more columns.

# Sort a DataFrame by the 'Name' column in ascending order
df.sort_values(by='Name')

# Sort a DataFrame by the 'Name' column in descending order
df.sort_values(by='Name', ascending=False)

# Sort a DataFrame by multiple columns
df.sort_values(by=['Age', 'Salary'])

.sort_values() also allows you to sort a DataFrame on the basis of specific criteria such as ‘quicksort’, ‘mergesort’ or ‘heapsort’

# Sort a DataFrame by the 'Name' column in ascending order using mergesort
df.sort_values(by='Name', kind='mergesort')

.sort_values() also allows you to sort a DataFrame on the basis of ‘stability.’

# Sort a DataFrame