How does Python order strings?

Question

I've so far discovered that in Python:
[space] < 0-9 < A-Z < a-z
when ordering strings.

But why is it that '[space] a' < 'a'?　
And why is it that 'abc' > 'ABCDEFG'?

How are strings ordered in Python?
Is there a flowchart that will help me understand this process?

You shouldn't really be surprised by facts 2 and 3 because they follow immediately from fact 1. — user2390182, Mar 19 '17 at 21:17

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Mar 19 '17 at 21:17

1

Strings of the same type are ordered naively, with lower byte values or code points ordered before higher byte values or code points.

answered Mar 19 '17 at 21:17

My question is which characters have higher byte values? – user604803 Apr 06 '17 at 00:53
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASCII#Code_chart – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Apr 06 '17 at 00:58
So when comparing two strings such as `'[space] a'` and `'a'` what values are actually being compared? Why is the former less than the latter? – user604803 Apr 06 '17 at 01:05
Because the former is 0x20 and the latter is 0x61. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Apr 06 '17 at 01:12
`'[space]'` is 0x20, so how is `'[space] a'` also 0x20? – user604803 Apr 06 '17 at 02:34
The string itself is more than the one character, but the comparison is complete as soon as the first character is compared. – Ignacio Vazquez-Abrams Apr 06 '17 at 02:45

1 Answers1