From: David Flanagan <david@...>
Date: 2008-08-02T06:43:56+09:00
Subject: [ruby-core:18074] Re: New array methods cycle, choice, shuffle (plus bug in cycle)

Wilson Bilkovich wrote:
> 
> I would like to cast my vote (not that I get a vote, but you get the
> idea) for Array#sample.
> Unlike 'choice', it actually sounds useful to me.
> 

I like 'sample' better than anything I've heard so far.  I only like it, 
however, if it accepts an optional argument for the size of the sample.
Picking one random element is so trivial it hardly requires a method. 
Picking n random elements without allowing duplicates and without 
duplicating and shuffling the entire array is not trivial and makes this 
a worthwhile addition to the Array API along with #shuffle.

If we agree that there is a use-case for adding #sample to the API, then
I would also argue again for #sample! which removes the sampled elements 
from the array.  There is no way to write #sample! based on #sample and 
I'd imagine that it would be usefule.

If the method doesn't take an argument and always returns a single 
element, then I'd prefer #rand or #random_element (or just removing the 
method) to #choose or #sample.

	David Flanagan