This idea is untested but seems like it should work!
> [ 'aa', 'qq', 'ttt', 'hh'] # master list
Convert list to dictionary keyed by item and valued by
list index
ie:
master = {'aa':0,'qq':1...'hh':3}
Now write a cmp() function that checks the index of your list
items against the dictionary index value.
Something like:
def cmp(a,b):
return master[a] - master[b]
I think....
Alan G.