Issue #9886: Add a key-function entry to the glossary.

rhettinger · rhettinger · commit 4531f8dd378c · 2010-10-31T22:39:33.000Z
diff --git a/Doc/glossary.rst b/Doc/glossary.rst
@@ -283,6 +283,26 @@ Glossary
       instances of user-defined classes are hashable by default; they all
       compare unequal, and their hash value is their :func:`id`.
 
+   key function
+      A key function or collation function is a callable that returns a value
+      used for sorting or ordering.  For example, :func:`locale.strxfrm` is
+      used to produce a sort key that is aware of locale specific sort
+      conventions.
+
+      A number of tools in Python accept key functions to control how elements
+      are ordered or grouped.  They include :func:`min`, :func:`max`,
+      :func:`sorted`, :meth:`list.sort`, :func:`heapq.nsmallest`,
+      :func:`heapq.nlargest`, and :func:`itertools.groupby`.
+
+      There are several ways to create a key function.  For example. the
+      :meth:`str.lower` method can serve as a key function for case insensitive
+      sorts.  Alternatively, an ad-hoc key function can be built from a
+      :keyword:`lambda` expression such as ``lambda r: (r[0], r[2])``.  Also,
+      the :mod:`operator` module provides three key function constuctors:
+      :func:`~operator.attrgetter`, :func:`~operator.itemgetter`, and
+      :func:`~operator.methodcaller`.  See the :ref:`Sorting HOW TO` for
+      examples of how to create and use key functions.
+
    IDLE
       An Integrated Development Environment for Python.  IDLE is a basic editor
       and interpreter environment which ships with the standard distribution of
