Simple snippet to shuffle array

#javascript #node #typescript

If you need to shuffle the elements of an array, you can use this simple function:

function shuffle(array) {
  const copy = [...array]

  return copy.sort(() => Math.random() - 0.5)
}

The algorithm

Creates a copy of the parameter to not modify the original array
Uses the function Array.prototype.sort of the copy to randomly sort the array with a callback that always returns Math.random() - 0.5 (The random factor).

Example

const example = [1, 2, 3]

const shuffled = shuffle(example)

/*
  shuffled is one of these:
  - [1, 2, 3]
  - [1, 3, 2]
  - [2, 1, 3]
  - [2, 3, 1]
  - [3, 1, 2]
  - [3, 2, 1]
*/

Top comments (3)

bravemaster619 • Jul 25 '20

WARNING why you shouldn't use this method in cryptographic functions: javascript.info/task/shuffle

That somewhat works, because Math.random() - 0.5 is a random number that may be positive or negative, so the sorting function reorders elements randomly.

But because the sorting function is not meant to be used this way, not all permutations have the same probability.