Creating a Random Permutation with Fixed Indices in Python

Creating a Random Permutation with Fixed Indices in Python

When working with permutations in Python, there might be instances where you need certain elements to be fixed at specific positions while the rest of the elements are shuffled randomly. This tutorial will guide you through creating a uniformly random permutation with some fixed indices in Python.

Overview

To achieve this, we will:

1. Create a list of elements to be permuted.
2. Remove the fixed elements from this list.
3. Shuffle the remaining elements.
4. Insert the fixed elements back into their specified positions.

This approach ensures that the permutation is random for all elements except for those that are fixed.

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Import the Random Module

First, you need to import Python’s random module which contains the shuffle method used to randomize the order of elements in a list.

import random

Step 2: Define the Fixed Index Permutation Function

Next, define a function that generates a random permutation with fixed elements at specified positions. The function takes the size of the permutation and a dictionary of fixed positions as inputs.

def fixed_index_permutation(size, fixed_positions):
    """
    Generate a random permutation of size `size` with fixed elements at given positions.
    
    :param size: The size of the permutation.
    :param fixed_positions: A dictionary with positions as keys and fixed elements as values.
    :return: A list representing the random permutation with fixed elements.
    """

Step 3: Prepare the Elements

Inside the function, start by generating a list of elements that will be permuted. Then, remove the fixed elements from this list since they should not be shuffled.

    elements = list(range(size))
    for position in fixed_positions.values():
        elements.remove(position)

Step 4: Shuffle the Remaining Elements

Shuffle the list of elements that do not have fixed positions.

    random.shuffle(elements)

Step 5: Create and Fill the Result List

Initialize the result list with None placeholders. Then, insert the fixed elements into their specified positions.

    result = [None] * size
    for position, element in fixed_positions.items():
        result[position] = element

Finally, fill in the shuffled elements in the positions that are not fixed.

    for i in range(size):
        if result[i] is None:
            result[i] = elements.pop(0)
    
    return result

Example Usage

To use this function, specify the size of the permutation and a dictionary indicating the fixed positions and their corresponding elements. For instance, to create a permutation of size 5 where the first element is 3 and the second element is 0, you would call the function as follows:

size = 5
fixed_positions = {0: 3, 1: 0} # The first element must be 3 and the second element must be 0
permutation = fixed_index_permutation(size, fixed_positions)
print(permutation)

This method efficiently generates a uniformly random permutation while ensuring that specific elements remain fixed at predetermined positions.