Weighted random selection from array

Question

I would like to randomly select one element from an array, but each element has a known probability of selection.

All chances together (within the array) sums to 1.<

Answer 1

This is a PHP code I used in production:

/**
 * @return \App\Models\CdnServer
*/
protected function selectWeightedServer(Collection $servers)
{
    if ($servers->count() == 1) {
        return $servers->first();
    }

    $totalWeight = 0;

    foreach ($servers as $server) {
        $totalWeight += $server->getWeight();
    }

    // Select a random server using weighted choice
    $randWeight = mt_rand(1, $totalWeight);
    $accWeight = 0;

    foreach ($servers as $server) {
        $accWeight += $server->getWeight();

        if ($accWeight >= $randWeight) {
            return $server;
        }
    }
}