Bruno - 9 months ago 55
Vb.net Question

# Write a method to shuffle a deck of cards in VB.NET

I have a standard deck of 52 cards is represented in an array. Each card is represented as an integer. I wrote the below function to shuffle the cards. Does the code below look ok?

Module Module3

Sub Main()

' initialize array
Dim Cards(52) As Integer

' Unit Test
' Pass array as argument.
Console.WriteLine(shuffle(Cards))

End Sub

Function shuffle(ByVal Cards() As Integer)

Dim counter = 1
Dim rand = New Random()

For Each card In Cards

' Grab random number with range of 52
Dim n = rand.Next(52)

' Pick a card
Dim temp = Cards(counter)

' Swap picked card with random card
Cards(counter) = Cards(n)
Cards(n) = temp

counter += 1

Next

Return (Cards)

End Function

End Module


No, the code doesn't do what you say.

Dim Cards(52) As Integer


This will create an array for 53 cards, not 52. Use:

Dim Cards(51) As Integer


When shuffling, swap each card with a card earlier in the deck (or itself), not anywhere in the deck. (This is the principle of the Fisher-Yates shuffle.)

Instead of having a counter separate from the loop, use the counter for the looping.

Dim rand = New Random()

For counter = 0 to Cards.Length - 1

Dim n = rand.Next(counter + 1)

Dim temp = Cards(counter)
Cards(counter) = Cards(n)
Cards(n) = temp

Next