Python search list according to another reference list

Question

I have two lists:

refList = ['INDIA', 'ALPHA','CHARLIE','BRAVO','WHISKEY','SIERRA']
sortList = ['CHARLIE','SIERRA','ALPHA', 'INDIA']

I want to sort sortList according to refList, i.e.:

result = ['INDIA', 'ALPHA','CHARLIE','SIERRA']

What is the most efficient way of doing this?

I did search for and try that method in the link you shared, but itdid not work for me. If you notice in that question, the two source lists are different in terms of elements within them.. X is an alphabetical list and Y is a numeric list. — jm8741, Jul 22 '14 at 15:10

Raul Guiu · Accepted Answer · 2014-07-22T15:21:35.857

1

>>> nlist = [r for r in refList if r in sortList]
>>> print nlist
['INDIA', 'ALPHA', 'CHARLIE', 'SIERRA']

May not be the most efficient way since we search in my list for every element in reflist. This is just simple and good enough for small lists

edited Jul 22 '14 at 15:21

answered Jul 22 '14 at 15:13

Raul Guiu

1 Answers1