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# Python List cmp() Function

## Description:

This function compares elements of two lists.

## Syntax:

    cmp(list1, list2)

## Parameters:

Here is the detail of parameters:

- list1: first list to be compared

- list2: second list to be compared

## Return Value:

If elements are of the same type, perform the compare and return the result. If elements are different types, check to see if they are numbers.

- If numbers, perform numeric coercion if necessary and compare.
- If either element is a number, then the other element is "larger" (numbers are "smallest").
- Otherwise, types are sorted alphabetically by name.

If we reached the end of one of the lists, the longer list is "larger." If we exhaust both lists and share the same data, the result is a tie, meaning that 0 is returned.

## Example:

    #!/usr/bin/python

    list1, list2 = [123, 'xyz'], [456, 'abc']

    print cmp(list1, list2);
    print cmp(list2, list1);
    list3 = list2 + [786];
    print cmp(list2, list3)

This will produce following result:

    -1
    1
    -1

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