Generate Random Vectors from a Discrete Sampling Model

Generates random variables from a discrete distribution (from a finite population with replacement).

rvdiscrete(n = 1, x, prob = NULL)

Arguments

n

integer: number of scalars to generate

x

values of the distribution

prob

probabilities (optional, default: all equal)

Details

Computes a random vector of length n, consisting of identicallly distributed discrete random scalars with the discrete distribution with values x and corresponding probabilities prob. If prob is not given, all values are considered equally distributed.

References

Kerman, J. and Gelman, A. (2007). Manipulating and Summarizing Posterior Simulations Using Random Variable Objects. Statistics and Computing 17:3, 235-244.

See also vignette("rv").

Author

Jouni Kerman jouni@kerman.com

Examples

if (FALSE) {

  # 8 people draw a number each from 1..10 with replacement.
  # What is the probability that the highest number of the eight is "10"?
  u <- rvdiscrete(n=8, x=1:10) # 8 iid variables from the discrete uniform 1:10.
  Pr(max(u)==10)
  # What is the probability that the person with the 3rd smallest number
  # has at least "3"?
  s <- sort(u) # order distribution
  Pr(s[3]>=3)
  }