Sorting words by length

What this problem practises

The two sorting APIs are not interchangeable: sorted() returns a brand-new list while list.sort() sorts in place and returns None. Key functions compare the values they extract, and comparing mixed types raises TypeError.

This is an output-prediction problem: read the snippet carefully and write down exactly what it prints before anything runs. These questions are interview staples because they test whether you know the language rules, or merely recognise their syntax.

Difficulty: hard — the naive reading is wrong, and the answer depends on tracking state precisely through the snippet.

The challenge

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Keep going

• Output-prediction strategies — how to predict tricky snippets without running them.
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• Common Python errors and what they actually mean, plus the Python glossary for any term used on this page.