VB.NET Random Numbers

Use the Random class. Random has a Next Function and is often used as a field.

Random. Z, M, E, L. You could try to decipher the secret order of those letters. But there is none. They are random—the ordering is randomized.

The Random type returns a stream of numbers. It is best used as a field. This improves results when called from multiple methods.

Next method. We create a Random class instance with its constructor. And with Next, we pass up to 2 arguments. Default values are used if we do not specify them as arguments.

Argument 1: This is the minimum value returned by Next. It is inclusive, so can be a possible result.

Argument 2: This is the exclusive (not included) maximum. A max of 3 means the highest result possible is 2.

VB.NET program that uses random, Next Module Module1 Sub Main() Dim r As Random = New Random ' Get random numbers between 1 and 3. ' ... The values 1 and 2 are possible. Console.WriteLine(r.Next(1, 3)) Console.WriteLine(r.Next(1, 3)) Console.WriteLine(r.Next(1, 3)) End Sub End Module Output 1 2 1

Field. For modules or classes, it is best to store a Random number generator as a field. The Random instance will not repeat itself as much.

Here: The program writes three random numbers to the screen. The output will vary each time you run it.

VB.NET program that uses field, module Module Module1 Sub Main() ' Write three random numbers. F() F() F() End Sub ''' <summary> ''' Write the next random number generated. ''' </summary> Private Sub F() ' Call Next method on the random object instance. Console.WriteLine(_r.Next) End Sub ''' <summary> ''' Store a random number generator. ''' </summary> Private _r As Random = New Random End Module Output 1284029964 984949494 1322530626

Random bytes. Sometimes we need to generate many random numbers at once. If we need bytes, we can generate random bytes with NextBytes.

Info: A loop that generates each byte individually could be used, but NextBytes is clearer and simpler to read.

VB.NET program that generates random bytes with NextBytes Module Module1 Sub Main() Dim randomGenerator = New Random() ' Array of 10 random bytes. Dim buffer(9) As Byte ' Generate 10 random bytes. randomGenerator.NextBytes(buffer) For Each value In buffer Console.Write("[{0}]", value) Next End Sub End Module Output [250][186][58][0][205][149][152][237][30][26]

Overloads. How does the Next Function work on the Random type? You can use overloaded versions of the Next Function to constrain the range of the Random number yielded.

Review: The first argument is the inclusive lower bound. The second argument is the exclusive upper bound.

However: If no arguments are passed, any positive number is returned. If one argument is used, that is the max.

Random array element. We can use the Choose() Function to get an array element in VB.NET. And with the Random Next() Function as an index, we can get a random array element.Choose

Random lowercase letters. Sometimes in programs we need random lowercase letters. These are just ASCII characters that come in a pseudo-random order.Random Lowercase Letter

It is important to use the Random type as a field in some situations, to reduce the possibility of repetition. Having fewer Random number generators is also more efficient.

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VB.NET Random Numbers

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