Reservoir

Dec 25, 2025 Engineering

Reservoir Sampling: Random Selection from Stream

You’re processing a firehose of data—millions of log entries, a continuous social media feed, or network packets flying by at wire speed. You need a random sample of k items, but you can’t store…

Dec 25, 2025 Engineering

Reservoir Sampling: Random Selection from Streams

You’re processing a continuous stream of events—server logs, user clicks, sensor readings—and you need a random sample. The catch: you don’t know how many items will arrive, you can’t store…