Random lowercase letter. In ASCII there are 26 lowercase letters. We cannot generate these directly with the Random class. But we can use a Function to get them.
Chr, Asc. With VB.NET helper functions like Asc and Chr we convert the Integer returned by Random's Next Function. We manipulate the value of the random number.
Here is the example. We introduce a GetLetter Function. This returns a Char. We use a Random class instance field. We call Next() on the Random class.
Argument 1 We use 0 as the first argument to Next(). The 0 will correspond to the lowercase letter "a."
Argument 2 We use 26 as the second argument. Our last letter "z" has the value 25. With Next, the second argument is exclusive.
Module Module1
' Used for GetLetter function.
Dim _random As Random = New Random()
Function GetLetter() As Char
' Get random number between 0 and 25 inclusive.' ... The second argument 26 is exclusive.' ... This corresponds to an ASCII char.
Dim number As Integer = _random.Next(0, 26)
' Convert lowercase "a" to an Integer with Asc.' ... Use this value to offset the number we generated.' ... Convert back to a Char with Chr.
Dim letter As Char = Chr((Asc("a"c) + number))
Return letter
End Function
Sub Main()
' Use our GetLetter function 5 times.
For i As Integer = 0 To 4
Dim letter = GetLetter()
Console.WriteLine(letter)
Next
End Sub
End Modulev
s
s
i
q
With a Random field, we avoid repeating random sequences. When a method like GetLetter is called many times, it is important to avoid creating a new Random each time.
Some testing. After running this program many times, I find that it generates "a" through "z." And no other chars appear to be generated.
Some uses. Random lowercase letters can be used alongside a class like StringBuilder. We can generate random strings in this way.
Dot Net Perls is a collection of pages with code examples, which are updated to stay current. Programming is an art, and it can be learned from examples.
Donate to this site to help offset the costs of running the server. Sites like this will cease to exist if there is no financial support for them.
Sam Allen is passionate about computer languages, and he maintains 100% of the material available on this website. He hopes it makes the world a nicer place.