From: James Edward Gray II <james@...>
Date: 2004-10-05T01:31:41+09:00
Subject: Re: [SOLUTION] Secret Santas (#2)

On Oct 4, 2004, at 7:38 AM, Carlos wrote:

> I didn't participate, but I thought it was a trivial case of sorting 
> the
> families by number of members and start giving santas from the most 
> populous
> down. I should have tested that theory with code, but I didn't have 
> time on
> the weekend :(. How can it not work?

To be honest, my first reaction to this problem was that it was 
trivial.  It wasn't until I was in the middle of coding up a solution 
that I began to appreciate it.

One person told me this problem is just "toy code".  While a Secret 
Santa draw may not appeal to everyone, I assure you there are 
interesting issues involved with the solution.  It's a fun "toy" to 
play with, if nothing else.  ;)

James Edward Gray II