If PL is a Python list as follows: PL = ['Basic', 'C', 'C++'] Then what will…

2023

If PL is a Python list as follows: PL = ['Basic', 'C', 'C++'] Then what will be the status of the list PL after PL.sort(reverse = True) ?

  1. A.

    ['Basic', 'C', 'C++']

  2. B.

    ['C++', 'C', 'Basic']

  3. C.

    ['C', 'C++', 'Basic']

  4. D.

    ['Basic', 'C++', 'C']

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Correct answer: B

Answer: ['C++', 'C', 'Basic']

Key idea: PL.sort(reverse=True) sorts the list in descending lexicographic order (highest to lowest) and modifies the list in place.

  • Compare 'C++' vs 'C': 'C' is a prefix of 'C++'. In lexicographic comparison the longer string is considered greater when one is a prefix of the other, so 'C++' > 'C'. Therefore 'C++' comes before 'C' in descending order.

  • Compare 'C' vs 'Basic': 'C' (starts with 'C') is greater than 'Basic' (starts with 'B'), so 'C' comes before 'Basic' in descending order.

Putting these comparisons together gives the final list: ['C++', 'C', 'Basic'].

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