Most efficient array shuffler

Question

How can I shuffle an array\'s values in the most efficient manner possible?

Each element is just a string containing HTML.

Answer 1

You have a few choices.

First, you could use the stupidely naïve sorter...

arr = arr.sort(function() {
    return Math.random() - .5
});

jsFiddle.

This is quick and dirty but often considered bad practice.

Further Reading.

The best way to randomly sort an Array is with the Fisher-Yates shuffle.

var newArr = [];

while (arr.length) {

   var randomIndex = Math.floor(Math.random() * arr.length),
       element = arr.splice(randomIndex, 1)

   newArr.push(element[0]);       

}

JSBin.