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Re: How do I pick a random line from a file?by rob_au (Abbot) |
on Dec 01, 2001 at 16:19 UTC ( [id://128858]=note: print w/replies, xml ) | Need Help?? |
From Programming Perl (1st Ed) written by Larry Wall and Randal Schwartz ...
This procedure selects a line at random from a file, using just one pass over the file and without knowing in advance the number of lines. It works by calculating the probability that the current line (indicated by the $. variable) would be selected if this line were the last line in the file. The first line is selected with a probability of 100%, but the second line has a 50% chance of replacing the first one, the third line a 33% chance of replacing one of the first two, and so on.
In Section
Seekers of Perl Wisdom
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