(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)
shuffle — Shuffle an array
This function shuffles (randomizes the order of the elements in) an array.
This function does not generate cryptographically secure values, and must not be used for cryptographic purposes, or purposes that require returned values to be unguessable.
If cryptographically secure randomness is required, the Random\Randomizer may be used with the Random\Engine\Secure engine. For simple use cases, the random_int() and random_bytes() functions provide a convenient and secure API that is backed by the operating system’s CSPRNG.
arrayThe array.
Always returns true.
| Version | Description |
|---|---|
| 7.1.0 | The internal randomization algorithm has been changed to use the » Mersenne Twister Random Number Generator instead of the libc rand function. |
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.
Note:
Resets array's internal pointer to the first element.
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 = $new;
return true;
}
?>
*note: as of PHP 5.2.10, array_rand's resulting array of keys is no longer shuffled, so we use array_keys + shuffle.If you want the Power Set (set of all unique subsets) of an array instead of permutations, you can use this simple algorithm:
<?php
/**
* Returns the power set of a one dimensional array,
* a 2-D array.
* array(a,b,c) ->
* array(array(a),array(b),array(c),array(a,b),array(b,c),array(a,b,c))
*/
function powerSet($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;
}
?>