>> Another way might be to sort by absolute value:
>>
>> intermed = [(abs(v), v) for v in foo]
>> intermed.sort()
>> intermed[0][1]
Duncan> It is slightly simpler if you use sorted (assuming a recent
Duncan> enough Python):
Duncan> intermed = sorted(foo, key=abs)
Duncan> print intermed[0]
Yeah, sorted() is new enough that my brain generally doesn't realize it's
available. I also never remember the key parameter to list.sort(). Now
that you mention it:
>>> foo = [5, 2, -1, -7, 3, -6, 2, 12]
>>> foo.sort(key=abs)
>>> foo
[-1, 2, 2, 3, 5, -6, -7, 12]
(assuming you don't mind reording the list - if you do, then sorted() is
your friend).
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