Другой ответ, возможно, быстрее:)
distribution = [(1, 0.2), (2, 0.3), (3, 0.5)]
# init distribution
dlist = []
sumchance = 0
for value, chance in distribution:
sumchance += chance
dlist.append((value, sumchance))
assert sumchance == 1.0 # not good assert because of float equality
# get random value
r = random.random()
# for small distributions use lineair search
if len(distribution) < 64: # don't know exact speed limit
for value, sumchance in dlist:
if r < sumchance:
return value
else:
# else (not implemented) binary search algorithm