Sorting List of Names into 2 or more lists without duplication

[mpower]

Hi all, just looking to get some assistance with a tricky one:

I have a list of 100 names with duplicates.

I need to sort that list into evenly split sub-lists (2 or more, up to 5) whilst making sure the same name is never repeated in the same sub-list.

E.g.

Master list:

Steve Koprowski
Treasa Hartranft
Trisha Mattie
Trisha Mattie
Teddy Wheat
Preston Jetter
Adrianne Manders
Preston Jetter
Shawnna Ullrich
Nicolette Ruffner
Aurelio Kells
Steve Koprowski
Marylyn Gilder
Nicolette Ruffner

 

Sorted into two sub-lists (no duplicates in any sub-list):

Steve Koprowski		Nicolette Ruffner
Treasa Hartranft		Steve Koprowski
Nicolette Ruffner		Trisha Mattie
Trisha Mattie		Preston Jetter
Adrianne Manders		Shawnna Ullrich
Preston Jetter		Aurelio Kells
Marylyn Gilder		Teddy Wheat

Sorted into three sub-lists (no duplicates in any sub-list):

Steve Koprowski		Nicolette Ruffner	Preston Jetter
Treasa Hartranft		Steve Koprowski	Shawnna Ullrich
Nicolette Ruffner		Trisha Mattie	Aurelio Kells
Trisha Mattie		Marylyn Gilder	Teddy Wheat
Adrianne Manders		Preston Jetter

[spudw2k]

If you put the names into an array, you can use the _ArrayUnique function to eliminate duplicates.

After that, you could use _ArrayExtract to create new arrays (lists) the sizes you want (Array Size / 2, Array Size /3, etc.)

[mpower]

I want the duplicates to remain, they just cannot be repeated in the split lists. I.e. each person is only allocated to unique sub-lists. Anyway I think I figured out how to do it. The trick is to allocate all dupes randomly (but without repeating in the same sub-list) first. Then allocate the rest of the non-dupes to fill the rest of the sub lists.

 

Cheers

[CYCho]

The following method divides the master list into 3 sublists. If you have 4 identical names in the master list and you divide it to 3 sublists, you cannot avoid duplicate in one of the sublists.
 

expandcollapse popup

#include <Array.au3>

$sMaster = "Steve Koprowski"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Treasa Hartranft"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Trisha Mattie"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Trisha Mattie"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Teddy Wheat"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Preston Jetter"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Adrianne Manders"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Preston Jetter"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Shawnna Ullrich"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Nicolette Ruffner"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Aurelio Kells"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Steve Koprowski"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Marylyn Gilder"
$sMaster &= @CR & "Nicolette Ruffner"

$aMaster = StringSplit($sMaster, @CR)

_ArraySort($aMaster, 0, 1)

Dim $aList1[1], $aList2[1], $aList3[1]

For $i = 1 To $aMaster[0]
    If Mod($i, 3) = 1 Then
        _ArrayAdd($aList1, $aMaster[$i])
        $aList1[0] += 1
    ElseIf Mod($i, 3) = 2 Then
        _ArrayAdd($aList2, $aMaster[$i])
        $aList2[0] += 1
    Else
        _ArrayAdd($aList3, $aMaster[$i])
        $aList3[0] += 1
    EndIf
Next

_ArrayDisplay($aList1)
_ArrayDisplay($aList2)
_ArrayDisplay($aList3)

 

Edited October 21, 2020 by CYCho

[spudw2k]

2 hours ago, mpower said:

I want the duplicates to remain

Ah, I see.  Sorry for missing that detail. 

[JockoDundee]

3 hours ago, mpower said:

The trick is to allocate all dupes randomly

Imho, the best solution rarely involves randomness, especially when it comes to finite tasks, e.g. sorting...