rand(3) / random(3) / arc4random(3) / et al.
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rand(3) / random(3) / arc4random(3) / et al.
What passes for randomness is merely a hidden chain of causality.
In a mechanical universe of material interactions expressed through mathematical equations, it is unclear whether nature encodes an element of chance, or if it’s a uniquely human way to reconcile uncertainty.
We can be sure of one thing, however: in the closed, digital universe of CPU cycles, processes, and threads, there is no true randomness, only pseudorandomness.
Pseudorandomness, is often implemented in a way very similar to a cryptographic hash, as a deterministic function that returns a value based on the current time (salted, of course, by some initial seed value). Also like hash functions, there are a number of PRNG, or pseudorandom number generators, each of which are optimized for particular performance characteristics: uniformity, periodicity, and computational complexity.
Of course, for app developers, all of this is an academic exercise. And rather than bore you with any more high-minded, long-winded treatises on the philosophical nature of randomness, we’re going to tackle this one FAQ-style.
Our goal this week: to clear up all of the lingering questions and misunderstandings about doing random things in Objective-C. Let’s dive in!
How Do I Generate a Random Number in Objective-C?
tl;dr: Use arc4random()
and its related functions.
Specifically, to generate a random number between 0
and N - 1
, use arc4random_uniform()
, which avoids modulo bias.
Random int
between 0
and N - 1
NSUInteger r = arc4random_uniform(N);
Random int
between 1
and N
NSUInteger r = arc4random_uniform(N) + 1;
Random double
between 0
and 1
If you are generating a random double
or float
, another good option is the more obscure rand48
family of functions, including drand48(3)
.
srand48(time(0));
double r = drand48();
rand48
functions, unlikearc4random
functions, require an initial value to be seeded before generating random numbers. This seed function,srand48(3)
, should only be run once.
How Do I Pick a Random Element from an NSArray
?
Use arc4random_uniform(3)
to generate a random number in the range of a non-empty array.
if ([array count] > 0) {
id obj = array[arc4random_uniform([array count])];
}
How Do I Randomly Order an NSArray
?
NSMutableArray *mutableArray = [NSMutableArray arrayWithArray:array];
NSUInteger count = [mutableArray count];
// See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher–Yates_shuffle
if (count > 1) {
for (NSUInteger i = count - 1; i > 0; --i) {
[mutableArray exchangeObjectAtIndex:i withObjectAtIndex:arc4random_uniform((int32_t)(i + 1))];
}
}
NSArray *randomArray = [NSArray arrayWithArray:mutableArray];
This code is borrowed from TTTRandomizedEnumerator, which also provides randomized enumerators for
NSSet
,NSOrderedSet
, andNSDictionary
.
How Do I Generate a Random String?
If you’re looking to generate “lorem ipsum“-style sentences, try constructing a Markov Chain from a corpus.
Otherwise, if you’re looking to just get random letters, try one of the following methods:
Generate a Random Lowercase NSString
If you are operating on a known, contiguous range of Unicode characters, such as the lowercase letters (U+0061
— U+007A
), you can do a simple conversion from a char
:
NSString *letter = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%c", arc4random_uniform(26) + 'a'];
Pick a Random Character From an NSString
Otherwise, a simple way to pick random letters from a set of your choosing is to simply create a string containing all of the possible letters:
NSString *vowels = @"aeiouy";
NSString *letter = [vowels substringWithRange:NSMakeRange(arc4random_uniform([vowels length]), 1)];
Why Should I Use arc4random(3)
instead of rand(3)
or random(3)
?
C functions are typically denoted with a number
3
inside of parentheses, following the organizational convention ofman
pages.
-
arc4random
does not require an initial seed (withsrand
orsrandom
), making it that much easier to use. -
arc4random
has a range up to0x100000000 (4294967296)
, whereasrand
andrandom
top out atRAND_MAX = 0x7fffffff (2147483647)
. -
rand
has often been implemented in a way that regularly cycles low bits, making it more predictable.
What are rand(3)
, random(3)
, and arc4random(3)
, and Where Do They Come From?
-
rand
is a standard C function. -
random
is defined as part of the POSIX standard. -
arc4random
is provided on BSD and derived platforms.
If you have any additional questions about randomness on Objective-C, feel free to tweet @NSHipster. As always, corrections are welcome in the form of a pull request.
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