Char Array Dictionary Path Random String Replace

`Random` `String`

A random string is sometimes useful. With it, we can store data with a random key. In VB.NET we can generate a random string in many ways.

Using Path.GetRandomFileName is one of the simpler ways to generate a random string. This can be sufficient for many purposes.

Example

In .NET, an included method called Path.GetRandomFileName returns an 8-char file name with a 3-char extension. This will generate a short, lowercased, random string.

Warning There are limitations to this approach. Longer strings are not available, and no uppercase letters are included.

Detail We use the string Replace function to eliminate the period from the random string.

Info With the Random class, we could generate letters and numbers and add them to a Char array.

Imports System.IO

Module Module1

    Public Function GetRandomString()
        Dim p As String = Path.GetRandomFileName()
        p = p.Replace(".", "")
        Return p
    End Function

    Sub Main()
        ' Get two random strings.
        Dim value As String = GetRandomString()
        Dim value2 As String = GetRandomString()

        ' Display the strings.
        Console.WriteLine(value)
        Console.WriteLine(value2)
    End Sub

End Moduleqkdqh2lmcev
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A discussion

Sometimes we need random strings, and the exact characteristics of those strings are not important. A simple method, like GetRandomString, suffices.

Info For example, I have needed to generate random String keys for a Dictionary for testing performance.

For serious programs, a custom method might be needed. For testing, though, the Path class offers an included random-string generator: GetRandomFileName.