Sorting against an arbitrary standard

arb_sort.py

#Driven By Trello Card Sorting

#We want to preserve this order
color_list = ['green','yellow','orange','red','purple','blue']

dd = [
  {'color':'yellow','name':'Jet'},
  {'color':'blue','name':'Spike'},
  {'color':'green','name':'Faye'},
  {'color':'purple','name':'Ed'},
  {'color':'orange','name':'Ein'},
  {'color':'red','name':'Viscious'},
]

new_dd = sorted(dd,key=lambda k: color_list.index(k['color']))

for n in new_dd:
    print n

# output
# {'color': 'green', 'name': 'Faye'}
# {'color': 'yellow', 'name': 'Jet'}
# {'color': 'orange', 'name': 'Ein'}
# {'color': 'red', 'name': 'Viscious'}
# {'color': 'purple', 'name': 'Ed'}
# {'color': 'blue', 'name': 'Spike'}