sorted() vs list.sort()

Question

Accepted Answer

sorted() is a built-in function that returns a new sorted list, leaving the original unchanged. It accepts any iterable (tuples, sets, generators). list.sort() mutates the list in place and returns None - a common bug is assigning the result: my_list = my_list.sort() gives None. Prefer sorted() when you need the original preserved; use .sort() when in-place is fine and you want to avoid the memory cost of a copy.