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Algorithms & data structures easy

How to Sample Random Items Without Replacement in Python

Select k random unique items from a sequence using random.sample for uniform, non-repeating selection.

random sampling algorithms
Python
import random

def sample_without_replacement(population, k):
    """Return k random items from population without replacement."""
    if k > len(population):
        raise ValueError("k cannot exceed population size")
    # Use random.sample for O(k) time, no mutation of the original
    return random.sample(populati…
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