Mutually exclusive random sampling from a list

Question

input = ['beleriand','mordor','hithlum','eol','morgoth','melian','thingol']

I'm having trouble creating X number of lists of size Y without repeating any elements.

What I have been doing is using:

x = 3
y = 2

import random

output = random.sample(input, y)
# ['mordor', 'thingol']

but if I repeat this then I will have repeats.

I would like the output to be something like

[['mordor', 'thingol'], ['melian', 'hithlum'], ['beleriand', 'eol']]

since I chose x = 3 (3 lists) of size y = 2 (2 elements per list).

def random_generator(x,y):
    ....

Answer 1

rather than randomly taking two things from your list, just randomize your list and iterate through it to create your new array of the dimensions you specify!

import random
my_input = ['beleriand','mordor','hithlum','eol','morgoth','melian','thingol']
def random_generator(array,x,y):
    random.shuffle(array)
    result = []
    count = 0
    while count < x:
        section = []
        y1 = y * count
        y2 = y * (count + 1)
        for i in range (y1,y2):
            section.append(array[i])
        result.append(section)
        count += 1
    return result
print random_generator(my_input,3,2)