The random module
18-minute lesson · module-modules-03
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The random module
18-minute lesson · module-modules-03
- Generate random integers with `random.randint` and shuffle with `random.shuffle`.
- Pick a random element with `random.choice`.
- Explain why pseudo-random numbers are reproducible.
- Seed the generator with `random.seed` so results are deterministic and testable.
Source attribution
Status: adapted
How to Think Like a Computer Scientist: Interactive Edition — source · Modules / The random module
Adaptation notes. Reading rewritten in our voice. The dice / card-deck examples are ours. Because hidden tests must be deterministic, the exercise functions take a seed argument and call random.seed(seed) first; the test recomputes the expected values with the same seed and asserts an exact match.
License notes. Original chapter is GNU FDL 1.3 (Brad Miller, David Ranum, and the upstream Elkner/Downey/Meyers text). No verbatim text reproduced.