php get two different random array elements [duplicate] - php

Question

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How do I select 10 random things from a list in PHP?
(5 answers)
Closed 8 months ago.
From an array
$my_array = array('a','b','c','d','e');
I want to get two DIFFERENT random elements.
With the following code:
for ($i=0; $i<2; $i++) {
$random = array_rand($my_array); # one random array element number
$get_it = $my_array[$random]; # get the letter from the array
echo $get_it;
}
it is possible to get two times the same letter. I need to prevent this. I want to get always two different array elements. Can somebody tell me how to do that?
Thanks

Answer 1

array_rand() can take two parameters, the array and the number of (different) elements you want to pick.
mixed array_rand ( array $input [, int $num_req = 1 ] )
$my_array = array('a','b','c','d','e');
foreach( array_rand($my_array, 2) as $key ) {
echo $my_array[$key];
}

Answer 2

What about this?
$random = $my_array; // make a copy of the array
shuffle($random); // randomize the order
echo array_pop($random); // take the last element and remove it
echo array_pop($random); // s.a.

Answer 3

You could always remove the element that you selected the first time round, then you wouldn't pick it again. If you don't want to modify the array create a copy.
for ($i=0; $i<2; $i++) {
$random = array_rand($my_array); # one random array element number
$get_it = $my_array[$random]; # get the letter from the array
echo $get_it;
unset($my_array[$random]);
}

Answer 4

You can shuffle and then pick a slice of two. Use another variable if you want to keep the original array intact.
$your_array=[1,2,3,4,5,6,7];
shuffle($your_array); // randomize the order
$your_array = array_slice($your_array, 0, 2); //pick 2

Answer 5

foreach (array_intersect_key($arr, array_flip(array_rand($arr, 2))) as $k => $v) {
echo "$k:$v\n";
}
//or
list($a, $b) = array_values(array_intersect_key($arr, array_flip(array_rand($arr, 2))));

Answer 6

here's a simple function I use for pulling multiple random elements from an array.
function get_random_elements( $array, $limit=0 ){
shuffle($array);
if ( $limit > 0 ) {
$array = array_splice($array, 0, $limit);
}
return $array;
}

Answer 7

Here's how I did it. Hopefully this helps anyone confused.
$originalArray = array( 'first', 'second', 'third', 'fourth' );
$newArray= $originalArray;
shuffle( $newArray);
for ($i=0; $i<2; $i++) {
echo $newArray[$i];
}

Answer 8

Get the first random, then use a do..while loop to get the second:
$random1 = array_rand($my_array);
do {
$random2 = array_rand($my_array);
} while($random1 == $random2);
This will keep looping until random2 is not the same as random1