How Can I Generate a List of Unique Random Numbers Within a Range in Python?

Unique Random Number Generation Within a Range

Given the ability to generate a random number within a range using random.randint, the task arises of generating a list of unique random numbers. While iterative conditional statements may serve as a solution, a more elegant approach exists for efficiently achieving this outcome.

Random Sampling

Python's random module provides a function named sample specifically designed for sampling without replacement. This function takes a population (e.g., a list of numbers) and a sample size as arguments and returns a list of randomly selected unique elements from the population.

For example, to generate a list of 3 unique random numbers within the range [1, 100], one can use the following code:

import random

population = range(1, 100)  # Initialize the population
sample_size = 3  # Set the sample size
random_sample = random.sample(population, sample_size)

random_sample will now contain a list of 3 unique random numbers within the specified range.

Handling Size Discrepancies

It is important to note that if the sample size exceeds the population size, sample will raise a ValueError. To handle this scenario, one can use a try-except block to catch the exception and handle it accordingly.

For instance, to attempt generating a sample of size 3 from a population of size 2, one can write the following code:

try:
    random.sample(range(1, 2), 3)
except ValueError:
    print('Sample size exceeded population size.')

If the sample size is larger than the population size, this code will print an informative message rather than crashing.

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