(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7)
shuffle — Shuffle an array
&$array
)This function shuffles (randomizes the order of the elements in) an array.
arrayThe array.
Returns TRUE on success or FALSE on failure.
Example #1 shuffle() example
<?php
$numbers = range(1, 20);
shuffle($numbers);
foreach ($numbers as $number) {
echo "$number ";
}
?>
Note: This function assigns new keys to the elements in
array. It will remove any existing keys that may have been assigned, rather than just reordering the keys.
shuffle for associative arrays, preserves key=>value pairs.
(Based on (Vladimir Kornea of typetango.com)'s function)
<?php
function shuffle_assoc(&$array) {
$keys = array_keys($array);
shuffle($keys);
foreach($keys as $key) {
$new[$key] = $array[$key];
}
$array = $new;
return true;
}
?>
*note: as of PHP 5.2.10, array_rand's resulting array of keys is no longer shuffled, so we use array_keys + shuffle.
Shuffle associative and non-associative array while preserving key, value pairs. Also returns the shuffled array instead of shuffling it in place.
<?php
function shuffle_assoc($list) {
if (!is_array($list)) return $list;
$keys = array_keys($list);
shuffle($keys);
$random = array();
foreach ($keys as $key)
$random[$key] = $list[$key];
return $random;
}
?>
Building on examples by m227 and pineappleclock, here is a function that returns all permutations of each set in the power set of an array of strings (instead of a string). Thanks for the great examples!
<?php
/*
Use: $arr = power_perms($in);
Example:
$in = array("A","B","C");
$power_perms = power_perms($in);
Returns:
Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[0] => A
[1] => B
[2] => C
)
[1] => Array
(
[0] => A
[1] => C
[2] => B
)
[2] => Array
(
[0] => B
[1] => A
[2] => C
)
[3] => Array
(
[0] => B
[1] => C
[2] => A
)
[4] => Array
(
[0] => C
[1] => A
[2] => B
)
[5] => Array
(
[0] => C
[1] => B
[2] => A
)
[6] => Array
(
[0] => A
[1] => B
)
[7] => Array
(
[0] => B
[1] => A
)
[8] => Array
(
[0] => B
[1] => C
)
[9] => Array
(
[0] => C
[1] => B
)
[10] => Array
(
[0] => A
[1] => C
)
[11] => Array
(
[0] => C
[1] => A
)
[12] => Array
(
[0] => A
)
[13] => Array
(
[0] => B
)
[14] => Array
(
[0] => C
)
)
*/
function power_perms($arr) {
$power_set = power_set($arr);
$result = array();
foreach($power_set as $set) {
$perms = perms($set);
$result = array_merge($result,$perms);
}
return $result;
}
function power_set($in,$minLength = 1) {
$count = count($in);
$members = pow(2,$count);
$return = array();
for ($i = 0; $i < $members; $i++) {
$b = sprintf("%0".$count."b",$i);
$out = array();
for ($j = 0; $j < $count; $j++) {
if ($b{$j} == '1') $out[] = $in[$j];
}
if (count($out) >= $minLength) {
$return[] = $out;
}
}
//usort($return,"cmp"); //can sort here by length
return $return;
}
function factorial($int){
if($int < 2) {
return 1;
}
for($f = 2; $int-1 > 1; $f *= $int--);
return $f;
}
function perm($arr, $nth = null) {
if ($nth === null) {
return perms($arr);
}
$result = array();
$length = count($arr);
while ($length--) {
$f = factorial($length);
$p = floor($nth / $f);
$result[] = $arr[$p];
array_delete_by_key($arr, $p);
$nth -= $p * $f;
}
$result = array_merge($result,$arr);
return $result;
}
function perms($arr) {
$p = array();
for ($i=0; $i < factorial(count($arr)); $i++) {
$p[] = perm($arr, $i);
}
return $p;
}
function array_delete_by_key(&$array, $delete_key, $use_old_keys = FALSE) {
unset($array[$delete_key]);
if(!$use_old_keys) {
$array = array_values($array);
}
return TRUE;
}
?>
I've been wondering why shuffle() doesn't provide the shuffled array as a return value instead of a bool. I mean, what could possibly go wrong in shuffling elements from an array?
So I use something like this:
<?php
function array_shuffle($array) {
if (shuffle($array)) {
return $array;
} else {
return FALSE;
}
}
?>
Here i wrote a custom shuffle function which preserves the array index and distributes the array element randomly.
<?php
/*
* return an array whose elements are shuffled in random order.
*/
function custom_shuffle($my_array = array()) {
$copy = array();
while (count($my_array)) {
// takes a rand array elements by its key
$element = array_rand($my_array);
// assign the array and its value to an another array
$copy[$element] = $my_array[$element];
//delete the element from source array
unset($my_array[$element]);
}
return $copy;
}
$array = array(
'a' => 'apple',
'b' => 'ball',
'c' => 'cat',
'd' => 'dog',
'e' => 'egg',
'f' => 'fan',
'g' => 'gun'
);
print_r(custom_shuffle($array));
Array
(
[c] => cat
[e] => egg
[f] => fan
[a] => apple
[b] => ball
[g] => gun
[d] => dog
)
?>
Here is a quick function I wrote that generates a random password and uses shuffle() to easily shuffle the order.
<?php
public function randPass($upper = 3, $lower = 3, $numeric = 3, $other = 2) {
//we need these vars to create a password string
$passOrder = Array();
$passWord = '';
//generate the contents of the password
for ($i = 0; $i < $upper; $i++) {
$passOrder[] = chr(rand(65, 90));
}
for ($i = 0; $i < $lower; $i++) {
$passOrder[] = chr(rand(97, 122));
}
for ($i = 0; $i < $numeric; $i++) {
$passOrder[] = chr(rand(48, 57));
}
for ($i = 0; $i < $other; $i++) {
$passOrder[] = chr(rand(33, 47));
}
//randomize the order of characters
shuffle($passOrder);
//concatenate into a string
foreach ($passOrder as $char) {
$passWord .= $char;
}
//we're done
return $passWord;
}
?>
Many people in SEO need to supply an array and shuffle the results and need the same result each time that page is generated. This is my implementation with a working example:
<?php
function seoShuffle(&$items,$string) {
mt_srand(strlen($string));
for ($i = count($items) - 1; $i > 0; $i--){
$j = @mt_rand(0, $i);
$tmp = $items[$i];
$items[$i] = $items[$j];
$items[$j] = $tmp;
}
}
$items = array('one','two','three','four','five','six');
$string = 'whatever';
echo '<pre>';
print_r($items);
echo '</pre>';
seoShuffle($items,$string);
echo '<pre>';
print_r($items);
echo '</pre>';
?>
This seems to do reasonably well as a shuffle() that preserves index assocation:
<?php
function ashuffle (&$arr) {
uasort($arr, function ($a, $b) {
return rand(-1, 1);
});
}
?>
Obviously only works if PHP has closures enabled...
Just a quick note to let people know that shuffle() will work on multidimensional associative arrays provided that the first key is already numeric.
So this array can be shuffled without losing any of the secondary keys or their values:
$array[0]['color'], $array[0]['size'], $array[0]['fabric']
. . .
$array[50]['color'], $array[50]['size'], $array[50]['fabric']
I recently ran up against needing to randomize this array and tried shuffle even though it's not really for associative arrays.
Hope it helps somebody out there.
I needed a simple function two shuffle a two dimensional array. Please note the second level arrays must be indexed using integers, for example $myarray[0]["Name"] and not $myarray["One"]["Name"]. Here is the function:
<?php
function twodshuffle($array)
{
// Get array length
$count = count($array);
// Create a range of indicies
$indi = range(0,$count-1);
// Randomize indicies array
shuffle($indi);
// Initialize new array
$newarray = array($count);
// Holds current index
$i = 0;
// Shuffle multidimensional array
foreach ($indi as $index)
{
$newarray[$i] = $array[$index];
$i++;
}
return $newarray;
}
?>
Please note it only works on two dimensional arrays. Here is an example:
<?php
$myarray = array("Google" => array("Name" => "Google", "URL" => "www.google.com", "Usage" => "Googling"), "Yahoo" => array("Name" => "Yahoo", "URL" => "www.yahoo.com", "Usage" => "Yahooing?"), "Ask" => array("Name" => "Ask", "URL" => "www.ask.com", "Usage" => "Asking Jeeves"));
print_r(twodshuffle($myarray));
/* And the result is:
Array ( [0] => Array ( [Name] => Ask [URL] => www.ask.com [Usage] => Asking Jeeves ) [1] => Array ( [Name] => Google [URL] => www.google.com [Usage] => Googling ) [2] => Array ( [Name] => Yahoo [URL] => www.yahoo.com [Usage] => Yahooing? ) )
*/
?>
Hope you find it useful!
This is a replica of shuffle() but preserving keys (associative and non-associative)
bool kshuffle ( array &$array )
<?php
function kshuffle(&$array) {
if(!is_array($array) || empty($array)) {
return false;
}
$tmp = array();
foreach($array as $key => $value) {
$tmp[] = array('k' => $key, 'v' => $value);
}
shuffle($tmp);
$array = array();
foreach($tmp as $entry) {
$array[$entry['k']] = $entry['v'];
}
return true;
}
$array = array('first' => 0, 'second' => 1, 'third' => 2);
kshuffle($array);
print_r($array); // [second] => 1 [first] => 0 [third] => 2
$array = array('first', 'second', 'third');
kshuffle($array);
print_r($array); // [1] => second [2] => third [0] => first
?>
If you want the Power Set (set of all unique subsets) of an array instead of permutations, you can use this simple algorithm:
<?php
/**
* Returns the power set of a one dimensional array,
* a 2-D array.
* array(a,b,c) ->
* array(array(a),array(b),array(c),array(a,b),array(b,c),array(a,b,c))
*/
function powerSet($in,$minLength = 1) {
$count = count($in);
$members = pow(2,$count);
$return = array();
for ($i = 0; $i < $members; $i++) {
$b = sprintf("%0".$count."b",$i);
$out = array();
for ($j = 0; $j < $count; $j++) {
if ($b{$j} == '1') $out[] = $in[$j];
}
if (count($out) >= $minLength) {
$return[] = $out;
}
}
return $return;
}
?>
Here is IMO the simplest and extremely fast way to shuffle an associative array AND keep the key=>value relationship. However, it ONLY works if there are NO NUMERIC keys AT ALL. Look into array_merge for the reason why.
<?php
$unshuffled = array('one'=>1,'two'=>2,'three'=>3);
$shuffled = array_merge( array_flip(array_rand($unshuffled,count($unshuffled))),$unshuffled );
?>
peace
Copy and paste this script and refresh the page to see the shuffling effect.
<?php
/**
* Shuffles and displays cards in a deck
* @author: Eric Anderson
* @filename: deckofcards.php
*/
// Create an array of face values
// and an array of card values
// then merge them together
$cards = array_merge(array("J", "Q", "K", "A"), range(2,10)); // 13 cards
// Shuffle the cards
shuffle($cards);
// Create an multidimentional array to hold the 4 suits
$suits = array(
'Heart' => array(),
'Spade' => array(),
'Diamond' => array(),
'Club' => array()
);
// Add cards to their respective suits
for($i = 0; $i < count($suits); $i++)
{
for($j = 0; $j < count($cards); $j++)
{
$suits['Heart'][$j] = $cards[$j]."<span style=color:#FF0000;>♥</span>";
$suits['Spade'][$j] = $cards[$j]."♠";
$suits['Diamond'][$j] = $cards[$j]."<span style=color:#FF0000;>♦</span>";
$suits['Club'][$j] = $cards[$j]."♣";
}
}
// Create a deck
$deck = array();
// Merge the suits into the empty deck array
$deck = array_merge($deck, $suits);
// Display the deck to the screen
echo "<p><b>Deck of cards:</b></p>";
foreach($deck as $k1 => $v1)
{
// Display suit name
echo "<p> $k1's<br /> {<br />  ";
$acc = 0;
// Display card value
foreach($v1 as $k2 => $v2)
{
echo "$v2 ";
$acc++;
if ($acc == 4)
{
echo "<br />  ";
$acc = 0;
}
}
echo "<br /> }</p>";
}
?>
There is an function which uses native shuffle() but preserves keys, and their order, so at end, only values are shuffled.
<?PHP
/**
* Array Quake - Give an array good quake so every value will endup with random given space.
* Keys, and their order are preserved.
* @author xZero <xzero@elite7hackers.net>
* @param array $array
* @return boolean false on failure
*/
function array_quake(&$array) {
if (is_array($array)) {
$keys = array_keys($array); // We need this to preserve keys
$temp = $array;
$array = NULL;
shuffle($temp); // Array shuffle
foreach ($temp as $k => $item) {
$array[$keys[$k]] = $item;
}
return;
}
return false;
}
// Example
$numbers = array(
'ZERO' => 0,
'ONE' => 1,
'TWO' => 2,
'THREE' => 3,
'FOUR' => 4,
'FIVE' => 5,
'SIX' => 6,
'SEVEN' => 7,
'EIGHT' => 8,
'NINE' => 9
);
echo "\nBefore (original):\n";
print_r($numbers);
array_quake($numbers);
echo "\n\nAfter (Array Quake);\n";
print_r($numbers);
echo "\n";
?>
Result example:
Before (original):
Array
(
[ZERO] => 0
[ONE] => 1
[TWO] => 2
[THREE] => 3
[FOUR] => 4
[FIVE] => 5
[SIX] => 6
[SEVEN] => 7
[EIGHT] => 8
[NINE] => 9
)
After (Array Quake);
Array
(
[ZERO] => 4
[ONE] => 2
[TWO] => 0
[THREE] => 8
[FOUR] => 3
[FIVE] => 6
[SIX] => 1
[SEVEN] => 7
[EIGHT] => 5
[NINE] => 9
)
It appears that the suhosin extensions >= 0.9.26 that have the suhosin.mt_srand.ignore and suhosin.srand.ignore settings set to "Off" do not affect shuffle().
In other words, the only way I was able to get pseudo-random and predictable results through shuffle() was to disable the extension.
Another shuffle() implementation that preserves keys, does not use extra memory and perhaps is a bit easier to grasp.
<?php
if (function_exists('shuffle_with_keys')===false) {
function shuffle_with_keys(&$array) {
/* Auxiliary array to hold the new order */
$aux = array();
/* We work with an array of the keys */
$keys = array_keys($array);
/* We shuffle the keys */
shuffle($keys);
/* We iterate thru' the new order of the keys */
foreach($keys as $key) {
/* We insert the key, value pair in its new order */
$aux[$key] = $array[$key];
/* We remove the element from the old array to save memory */
unset($array[$key]);
}
/* The auxiliary array with the new order overwrites the old variable */
$array = $aux;
}
}
?>
Posted below is code that you would expect to work
<?php
$keys = shuffle(array_keys($arr));
foreach ($keys as $key) {
$arr_elem = $arr[$key];
// do what you want with the array element
}
?>
This in fact does not work because shuffle returns a boolean true or false. More accurate code using this method would be:
<?php
$keys = array_keys($arr);
shuffle($keys);
foreach ($keys as $key) {
$arr_elem = $arr[$key];
// do what you want with the array element
}
?>
This function shuffles an associative array recursive.
<?php
/**
* Shuffles an associative array recursive
* @author Mogria <m0gr14@gmail.com>
* @param array $array
* @return array
*
*/
function rec_assoc_shuffle($array)
{
$ary_keys = array_keys($array);
$ary_values = array_values($array);
shuffle($ary_values);
foreach($ary_keys as $key => $value) {
if (is_array($ary_values[$key]) AND $ary_values[$key] != NULL) {
$ary_values[$key] = rec_assoc_shuffle($ary_values[$key]);
}
$new[$value] = $ary_values[$key];
}
return $new;
}
?>
Example of use:
<?php
$array =
Array(
1,
Array(
1,
2,
3,
4,
Array(
1,
2,
3,
4,
5
)
),
2,
3,
Array(
0,
1,
Array(
1,
2,
3,
4,
Array(
1,
6,
5,
2,
1,
3
)
)
),
4,
5,
6,
7
);
$array = rec_assoc_shuffle($array);
echo '<pre>';
print_r($array);
echo '</pre>';
/*
Returns:
Array
(
[0] => 6
[1] => 5
[2] => Array
(
[0] => 1
[1] => 3
[2] => Array
(
[0] => 3
[1] => 1
[2] => 2
[3] => 4
[4] => 5
)
[3] => 2
[4] => 4
)
[3] => 3
[4] => Array
(
[0] => Array
(
[0] => 3
[1] => 1
[2] => 4
[3] => Array
(
[0] => 5
[1] => 1
[2] => 3
[3] => 6
[4] => 1
[5] => 2
)
[4] => 2
)
[1] => 1
[2] => 0
)
[5] => 2
[6] => 1
[7] => 4
[8] => 7
)
*/
?>
