Lambda Function Example | Dataford Interview Questions

Chubb Claims receives claim records that must be displayed in a consistent priority order. Write a Python function that sorts claims by descending severity, then by ascending claim_id when severities are equal.

Use Python's sorted function with a lambda expression as the sorting key. Do not modify the input list.

Formal Specification

Implement sort_claims(claims).

claims is a list of dictionaries.
Each dictionary contains claim_id, a non-empty string, and severity, an integer from 1 through 5.
Return a new list containing the same dictionaries in the required order.
Sort higher severity values first.
For equal severity values, sort claim IDs lexicographically in ascending order.

A lambda expression should produce a compound sort key that represents both ordering rules.

Constraints

0 <= len(claims) <= 10^4
Each record contains a unique, non-empty string claim_id
1 <= severity <= 5
The input list must not be modified

Function Signature

def sort_claims(claims):

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