sorting dictionary python 3

A modern and fast solution, for Python 3.7. May also work in some interpreters of Python 3.6.

TLDR

To sort a dictionary by keys use:

sorted_dict = {k: disordered[k] for k in sorted(disordered)}

Almost three times faster than the accepted answer; probably more when you include imports.

Comment on the accepted answer

The example in the accepted answer instead of iterating over the keys only – with key parameter of sorted() or the default behaviour of dict iteration – iterates over tuples (key, value), which suprisingly turns out to be much slower than comparing the keys only and accessing dictionary elements in a list comprehension.

How to sort by key in Python 3.7

The big change in Python 3.7 is that the dictionaries are now ordered by default.

• You can generate sorted dict using dict comprehensions.
• Using OrderedDict might still be preferable for the compatibility sake.
• Do not use sorted(d.items()) without key.

See:

disordered = {10: 'b', 3: 'a', 5: 'c'}

# sort keys, then get values from original - fast
sorted_dict = {k: disordered[k] for k in sorted(disordered)}

# key = itemgetter - slower
from operator import itemgetter
key = itemgetter(0)
sorted_dict = {k: v for k, v in sorted(disordered.items(), key=key)}

# key = lambda - the slowest
key = lambda item: item[0]
sorted_dict = {k: v for k in sorted(disordered.items(), key=key)} 

Timing results:

Best for {k: d[k] for k in sorted(d)}: 7.507327548999456
Best for {k: v for k, v in sorted(d.items(), key=key_getter)}: 12.031082626002899
Best for {k: v for k, v in sorted(d.items(), key=key_lambda)}: 14.22885995300021

Best for dict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_getter)): 11.209122000000207
Best for dict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_lambda)): 13.289728325995384
Best for dict(sorted(d.items())): 14.231471302999125

Best for OrderedDict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_getter)): 16.609151654003654
Best for OrderedDict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_lambda)): 18.52622927199991
Best for OrderedDict(sorted(d.items())): 19.436101284998585

Testing code:

from timeit import repeat

setup_code = """
from operator import itemgetter
from collections import OrderedDict
import random
random.seed(0)
d = {i: chr(i) for i in [random.randint(0, 120) for repeat in range(120)]}
key_getter = itemgetter(0)
key_lambda = lambda item: item[0]
"""

cases = [
    # fast
    '{k: d[k] for k in sorted(d)}',
    '{k: v for k, v in sorted(d.items(), key=key_getter)}',
    '{k: v for k, v in sorted(d.items(), key=key_lambda)}',
    # slower
    'dict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_getter))',
    'dict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_lambda))',
    'dict(sorted(d.items()))',
    # the slowest 
    'OrderedDict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_getter))',
    'OrderedDict(sorted(d.items(), key=key_lambda))',
    'OrderedDict(sorted(d.items()))',
]

for code in cases:
    times = repeat(code, setup=setup_code, repeat=3)
    print(f"Best for {code}: {min(times)}")