Re: random elements from array

Call me crazy, but wouldn't this be a much more simple solution? This results in your 5 random elements from the array being the 5 elements in %hash;

my %hash;
my @array = ('one','two','three','four','five','six','seven','eight','
+nine','ten','eleven','twelve','thirteen','fourteen','fifteen');

while ((scalar keys %hash) < 5) {
    my $r = $array[rand(@array)];
    $hash{$r} = $r;
}
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Comment on Re: random elements from array - new twist Download Code

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Re: Re: random elements from array - new twist by Popcorn Dave (Abbot) on Nov 05, 2002 at 16:38 UTC
++ for that! The only problem I can see is if the original array has duplicate information, then that won't work. If however the original array is made up of unique items, then you'd be fine I would think. There is no emoticon for what I'm feeling now.	[reply]
Re: Re: Re: random elements from array - new twist by Theseus (Pilgrim) on Nov 05, 2002 at 16:57 UTC
The original poster said he wanted to make sure there were no duplicates returned out of the array, that's what makes the hash perfect for this particular problem. IMHO, anyway...	[reply]
Re: Re: Re: Re: random elements from array - new twist by SpaceAce (Beadle) on Nov 07, 2002 at 08:06 UTC
It isn't very efficient, though, is it? Every time the loop runs, it has to pick a random number and check/assign the hash key. It could pick the same element several times since the array doesn't change. Also, if for any reason that array was less than five unique elements long you would get an endless loop. SpaceAce	[reply]


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Re: random elements from array - new twist