Permutations: Generating All Possible Number Combinations

Determining all possible sets of numbers, ensuring each number is used only once in each set, involves understanding the concept of permutations.

Formula for Calculating Permutations

The formula to calculate the number of permutations for n items is:

nPk = n!/(n-k)!

In this case, where we have 9 numbers (0-8) and want to use all of them in each set, we have:

9P9 = 9! = 362880

This means there are 362,880 possible permutations.

Implementing Permutations in PHP

PHP offers a powerful function called pc_permute located in the "PHP Cookbook" by O'Reilly. Here's an example code snippet:

pc_permute(array(0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8));

The pc_permute function generates and prints all possible permutations of the given array. The output will be a list of 362,880 unique sets of numbers, each containing all 9 numbers (0-8).

This code provides a robust way to explore all possible combinations of a given set of numbers, proving useful in various applications involving permutations.