There are many ways to generate a random integer with a custom distribution (also known as a discrete distribution). The choice depends on many things, including the number of integers to choose from, the shape of the distribution, and whether the distribution will change over time. For details, see the following question, especially my answer there:
The following C# code implements Michael Vose's version of the alias method, as described in this article; see also this question. I have written this code for your convenience and provide it here.
public class LoadedDie {
// Initializes a new loaded die. Probs
// is an array of numbers indicating the relative
// probability of each choice relative to all the
// others. For example, if probs is [3,4,2], then
// the chances are 3/9, 4/9, and 2/9, since the probabilities
// add up to 9.
public LoadedDie(int probs){
this.prob=new List<long>();
this.alias=new List<int>();
this.total=0;
this.n=probs;
this.even=true;
}
Random random=new Random();
List<long> prob;
List<int> alias;
long total;
int n;
bool even;
public LoadedDie(IEnumerable<int> probs){
// Raise an error if nil
if(probs==null)throw new ArgumentNullException("probs");
this.prob=new List<long>();
this.alias=new List<int>();
this.total=0;
this.even=false;
var small=new List<int>();
var large=new List<int>();
var tmpprobs=new List<long>();
foreach(var p in probs){
tmpprobs.Add(p);
}
this.n=tmpprobs.Count;
// Get the max and min choice and calculate total
long mx=-1, mn=-1;
foreach(var p in tmpprobs){
if(p<0)throw new ArgumentException("probs contains a negative probability.");
mx=(mx<0 || p>mx) ? P : mx;
mn=(mn<0 || p<mn) ? P : mn;
this.total+=p;
}
// We use a shortcut if all probabilities are equal
if(mx==mn){
this.even=true;
return;
}
// Clone the probabilities and scale them by
// the number of probabilities
for(var i=0;i<tmpprobs.Count;i++){
tmpprobs[i]*=this.n;
this.alias.Add(0);
this.prob.Add(0);
}
// Use Michael Vose's alias method
for(var i=0;i<tmpprobs.Count;i++){
if(tmpprobs[i]<this.total)
small.Add(i); // Smaller than probability sum
else
large.Add(i); // Probability sum or greater
}
// Calculate probabilities and aliases
while(small.Count>0 && large.Count>0){
var l=small[small.Count-1];small.RemoveAt(small.Count-1);
var g=large[large.Count-1];large.RemoveAt(large.Count-1);
this.prob[l]=tmpprobs[l];
this.alias[l]=g;
var newprob=(tmpprobs[g]+tmpprobs[l])-this.total;
tmpprobs[g]=newprob;
if(newprob<this.total)
small.Add(g);
else
large.Add(g);
}
foreach(var g in large)
this.prob[g]=this.total;
foreach(var l in small)
this.prob[l]=this.total;
}
// Returns the number of choices.
public int Count {
get {
return this.n;
}
}
// Chooses a choice at random, ranging from 0 to the number of choices
// minus 1.
public int NextValue(){
var i=random.Next(this.n);
return (this.even || random.Next((int)this.total)<this.prob[i]) ? I : this.alias[i];
}
}
Example:
var loadedDie=new LoadedDie(new int[]{150,40,15,3}); // list of probabilities for each number:
// 0 is 150, 1 is 40, and so on
int number=loadedDie.nextValue(); // return a number from 0-3 according to given probabilities;
// the number can be an index to another array, if needed
I place this code in the public domain.
