max() of a list of tuples

[Scott David Daniels]

I know this isn't clever enough, but:

source = [(1,3,5), (8,16,2), (2,56,4)] # or whatever

best = source[0]
for element in source:
     if best[-1] < element[-1]:
         best = element
Leaving the answer in best.

or perhaps you'd prefer:

score = min([element[-1] for element in source])
for best in source:
     if score == best[-1]:
         break

or even:

if source:
     score = min([element[-1] for element in source])
     bestlist = [element[-1] for element in source
                 if score == element[-1]]
else:
     bestlist = []
# Which gives all elements with the highest score.



Variables named "i" always look like integers to me.
-Scott David Daniels
Scott.Daniels at Acm.Org