How do I shuffle an array in Swift?

Question

How do I randomize or shuffle the elements within an array in Swift? For example, if my array consists of 52 playing cards, I want to shuffle the array in o

Answer 1

If you want to use simple Swift For loop function use this ->

var arrayItems = ["A1", "B2", "C3", "D4", "E5", "F6", "G7", "H8", "X9", "Y10", "Z11"]
var shuffledArray = [String]()

for i in 0..<arrayItems.count
{
    let randomObject = Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(items.count)))

    shuffledArray.append(items[randomObject])

    items.remove(at: randomObject)
}

print(shuffledArray)

---

Swift Array suffle using extension ->

extension Array {
    // Order Randomize
    mutating func shuffle() {
        for _ in 0..<count {
            sort { (_,_) in arc4random() < arc4random() }
        }
    }
}

Answer 2

Simple Example:

extension Array {
    mutating func shuffled() {
        for _ in self {
            // generate random indexes that will be swapped
            var (a, b) = (Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(self.count - 1))), Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(self.count - 1))))
            if a == b { // if the same indexes are generated swap the first and last
                a = 0
                b = self.count - 1
            }
            swap(&self[a], &self[b])
        }
    }
}

var array = [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
array.shuffled()
print(array) // [9, 8, 3, 5, 7, 6, 4, 2, 1, 10]

Answer 3

Swift 4 Shuffle the elements of an array in a for loop where i is the mixing ratio

var cards = [Int]() //Some Array
let i = 4 // is the mixing ratio
func shuffleCards() {
    for _ in 0 ..< cards.count * i {
        let card = cards.remove(at: Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(cards.count))))
        cards.insert(card, at: Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(cards.count))))
    }
}

Or with extension Int

func shuffleCards() {
    for _ in 0 ..< cards.count * i {
        let card = cards.remove(at: cards.count.arc4random)
        cards.insert(card, at: cards.count.arc4random)
    }
}
extension Int {
    var arc4random: Int {
        if self > 0 {
            print("Arc for random positiv self \(Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(self))))")
        return Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(self)))
        } else if self < 0 {
            print("Arc for random negotiv self \(-Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(abs(self)))))")
            return -Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(abs(self))))
        } else {
            print("Arc for random equal 0")
            return 0
        }
    }
}

Answer 4

You can use generic swap function as well and implement mentioned Fisher-Yates:

for idx in 0..<arr.count {
  let rnd = Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(idx)))
  if rnd != idx {
    swap(&arr[idx], &arr[rnd])
  }
}

or less verbose:

for idx in 0..<steps.count {
  swap(&steps[idx], &steps[Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(idx)))])
}

Answer 5

In Swift 2.0, GameplayKit may come to the rescue! (supported by iOS9 or later)

import GameplayKit

func shuffle() {
    array = GKRandomSource.sharedRandom().arrayByShufflingObjectsInArray(array)
}

Answer 6

In my case, I had some problems of swapping objects in Array. Then I scratched my head and went for reinventing the wheel.

// swift 3.0 ready
extension Array {

    func shuffled() -> [Element] {
        var results = [Element]()
        var indexes = (0 ..< count).map { $0 }
        while indexes.count > 0 {
            let indexOfIndexes = Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(indexes.count)))
            let index = indexes[indexOfIndexes]
            results.append(self[index])
            indexes.remove(at: indexOfIndexes)
        }
        return results
    }

}