Pandas Series.sort_values() Tutorial

In this tutorial, we'll explore the Series.sort_values() method in Pandas, which is used to sort the values of a Pandas Series in ascending or descending order, with well detailed examples.

The syntax of Series.sort_values(ascending=True, inplace=False, na_position='last') is:

Series.sort_values(ascending=True, inplace=False, na_position='last')

where

Parameter	Description
ascending	Whether to sort in ascending (True) or descending (False) order. Default is True.
inplace	Whether to perform the operation in-place or return a new Series. Default is False.
na_position	Position of NaN values: 'first' or 'last'. Default is 'last'.

The Series.sort_values() method allows you to sort the values of a Series in either ascending or descending order.

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Examples for Series.sort_values() function

1. Sort values in ascending order using Series.sort_values()

In this example, we'll use Series.sort_values() to sort the values of a Pandas Series in ascending order.

Python Program

import pandas as pd

# Create a Series
original_series = pd.Series([30, 10, 20, 50, 40])

# Sort values in ascending order
sorted_series = original_series.sort_values()

# Print original and sorted Series
print("Original Series:")
print(original_series)
print("\nSorted Series (Ascending):")
print(sorted_series)

Output

Original Series:
0    30
1    10
2    20
3    50
4    40
dtype: int64

Sorted Series (Ascending):
1    10
2    20
0    30
4    40
3    50
dtype: int64

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2. Sort values in descending order (In-Place)

In this example, we'll use Series.sort_values() to sort the values of a Pandas Series in descending order, and we'll perform the sorting in-place.

To sort in descending order, pass the argument False for ascending parameter.

Python Program

import pandas as pd

# Create a Series
original_series = pd.Series([30, 10, 20, 50, 40])

# Sort values in descending order (In-Place)
original_series.sort_values(ascending=False, inplace=True)

# Print the sorted Series
print("Sorted Series (Descending - In-Place):")
print(original_series)

Output

Sorted Series (Descending - In-Place):
3    50
4    40
0    30
2    20
1    10
dtype: int64

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Summary

In this tutorial, we've covered the Series.sort_values() method in Pandas, which allows you to sort the values of a Series in either ascending or descending order, with options for in-place sorting and handling NaN values.