SQL random number that doesn't repeat within a group - sql

Question

Suppose I have a table:
HH SLOT RN
--------------
1 1 null
1 2 null
1 3 null
--------------
2 1 null
2 2 null
2 3 null
I want to set RN to be a random number between 1 and 10. It's ok for the number to repeat across the entire table, but it's bad to repeat the number within any given HH. E.g.,:
HH SLOT RN_GOOD RN_BAD
--------------------------
1 1 9 3
1 2 4 8
1 3 7 3 <--!!!
--------------------------
2 1 2 1
2 2 4 6
2 3 9 4
This is on Netezza if it makes any difference. This one's being a real headscratcher for me. Thanks in advance!

Answer 1

To get a random number between 1 and the number of rows in the hh, you can use:
select hh, slot, row_number() over (partition by hh order by random()) as rn
from t;
The larger range of values is a bit more challenging. The following calculates a table (called randoms) with numbers and a random position in the same range. It then uses slot to index into the position and pull the random number from the randoms table:
with nums as (
select 1 as n union all select 2 union all select 3 union all select 4 union all select 5 union all
select 6 union all select 7 union all select 8 union all select 9
),
randoms as (
select n, row_number() over (order by random()) as pos
from nums
)
select t.hh, t.slot, hnum.n
from (select hh, randoms.n, randoms.pos
from (select distinct hh
from t
) t cross join
randoms
) hnum join
t
on t.hh = hnum.hh and
t.slot = hnum.pos;
Here is a SQLFiddle that demonstrates this in Postgres, which I assume is close enough to Netezza to have matching syntax.

Answer 2

I am not an expert on SQL, but probably do something like this:
Initialize a counter CNT=1
Create a table such that you sample 1 row randomly from each group and a count of null RN, say C_NULL_RN.
With probability C_NULL_RN/(10-CNT+1) for each row, assign CNT as RN
Increment CNT and go to step 2

Answer 3

Well, I couldn't get a slick solution, so I did a hack:
Created a new integer field called rand_inst.
Assign a random number to each empty slot.
Update rand_inst to be the instance number of that random number within this household. E.g., if I get two 3's, then the second 3 will have rand_inst set to 2.
Update the table to assign a different random number anywhere that rand_inst>1.
Repeat assignment and update until we converge on a solution.
Here's what it looks like. Too lazy to anonymise it, so the names are a little different from my original post:
/* Iterative hack to fill 6 slots with a random number between 1 and 13.
A random number *must not* repeat within a household_id.
*/
update c3_lalfinal a
set a.rand_inst = b.rnum
from (
select household_id
,slot_nbr
,row_number() over (partition by household_id,rnd order by null) as rnum
from c3_lalfinal
) b
where a.household_id = b.household_id
and a.slot_nbr = b.slot_nbr
;
update c3_lalfinal
set rnd = CAST(0.5 + random() * (13-1+1) as INT)
where rand_inst>1
;
/* Repeat until this query returns 0: */
select count(*) from (
select household_id from c3_lalfinal group by 1 having count(distinct(rnd)) <> 6
) x
;