What is Randomization in Python – Explained with Coin Flip Example

What is Randomization?

Randomization is to make something unpredictable and with no rules. But in real-time making a program unpredictable is something very difficult to achieve

Randomization is very important if we want to create a computing program that is unpredictable.

One good example is Games 🙂

How Python Implements Randomization

Python uses “Mersenne Twister” Algorithm to generate the random behavior. It’s a pseudorandom number generator, which generates a random number.

For More details check the wiki link

In Python, A Module was created already to use this “pseudorandom number generator” which is called a “random module“

Let’s see some examples:

To use the random module, We need to import it First as below

import random

print(randint(0,10))

Output:

2
6
9

The above code will generate a random number between 0 – 10 (0 and 10 included)

Let’s use the above module in action. We can create a simple coin flip program to generate random output (Either Heads or Tails)

import random

random_number=random.randint(0,1)

if (random_number==0):

print("Heads")

else:

print("Tails")

Try it Yourself

Explanation

– We have used the “random module” to provide either 0 or 1 as an output

– 0 and 1 will be assigned as Head and tails

– So each time you execute the program, You will see either heads or tails and it is unpredictable

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Good Luck with your Learning.