Re: picking multiple random elements out of an array

[chipmunk]

Here's an extension of the FAQ's method for selecting a random line from a file. This one selects multiple lines/entries. It keeps the selected entries in their original order.

my $count = 5;
my @select;
my $i = 0;

for (@array) {
  push @select, $_ if rand() < ($count / ++$i);
  if (@select > $count) {
    splice(@select, rand($#select), 1);
  }
}