# Java: Random Numbers - shuffling

A standard approach to shuffling the elements of an array is to write some code as described below. As of Java 2 the `java.util.Collections` class contains a static `shuffle(list)` method, which is described at the bottom.

## Shuffling: Random numbers without replacement

The random number methods generate numbers with replacement. This means that a particular random number may be generated repeatedly. If you don't want the same numbers to be repeated, put the values (numbers, strings, objects, ...) in an array, then shuffle the array by randomly exchanging the array elements. The example below shows how to produce the values from 0 to 51 in a random order with no repetition.

## Example: Shuffling

A common problem is to shuffle (to randomly rearrange) the elements of an array. Here is how to do that.

    Random rgen = new Random();  // Random number generator
    int[] cards = new int[52];

    //--- Initialize the array to the ints 0-51
    for (int i=0; i<52; i++) {
        cards[i] = i;
    }

    //--- Shuffle by exchanging each element randomly
    for (int i=0; i<52; i++) {
        int randomPosition = rgen.nextInt(52);
        int temp = cards[i];
        cards[i] = card[randomPosition];
        cards[randomPosition] = temp;
    }

## java.util.Collections.shuffle(...)

Java has extensive classes for handling data structures, the so-called "Collections" classes. Most of these do not work on simple arrays of primitive values. If your data is already in one of the collections classes, eg, ArrayList, then you can use the `java.util.Collections.shuffle()` method easily. Arrays of objects can easily be converted to ArrayLists by using the `java.util.Arrays.asList(. . .)` method. For example, the above randomization could be accomplished with the following.

    import java.util.*;
    . . .
    Collections.shuffle(Arrays.asList(cards));

## Related pages

- Random numbers - intro
- Random numbers - API