sample()
- Posted by mindwalker Mar 31, 2011
- 1472 views
I was reading through some of the API documentation and ran across the sample() function. When I took statistics in college (30 years ago) we were taught two different sampling methods each of which have their uses.
The first of these appear to be the one currently supported. Example fill a bag with 10 white balls and 5 red balls, then sample n balls by withdrawing one ball at a time and placing it on the table.
The other starts with the same 10 white and 5 red balls in the bag, but the n ball sample is determined by withdrawing a ball, recording the color and then returning the ball to the bag before picking the next.
Unfortunately after 3 decades, I forget the terminology for indicating which method is being used, but I suspect sooner or later someone will ask about the other method.
