Checking if two strings are permutations of each other in Python

Question

I\'m checking if two strings a and b are permutations of each other, and I\'m wondering what the ideal way to do this is in Python. From the Zen of

Answer 1

In Python 3.1/2.7 you can just use collections.Counter(a) == collections.Counter(b).

But sorted(a) == sorted(b) is still the most obvious IMHO. You are talking about permutations - changing order - so sorting is the obvious operation to erase that difference.