Too complicated code for generating a random string?

[Ali Çehreli]

On 02/22/2013 05:07 PM, bearophile wrote:
 > Ali Çehreli:
 >
 >> auto pickOne(R)(R range)
 >> // insert template constraints here ... :)
 >> {
 >> return range[uniform(0, range.length)];
 >> }
 >
 > That's the function choice() I'd like in Phobos:
 > http://d.puremagic.com/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=4851

Agreed.

 > Note that:
 > range[uniform(0, range.length)];
 >
 > is written more compactly as:
 > range[uniform(0, $)];

Good point. I would think that $ must be "out in the open" to work that way.

 >> void main()
 >> {
 >> writeln(iota(10).map!((_) => pickOne(letters)));
 >> }
 >
 > Instead of "(_)" I think it's better to use a simpler "_".

Mine evolved from the earlier buggy ()=> then I inserted an underscore 
without realizing to remove the parentheses.

 > That's another commonly useful function, often named table(), similar to
 > map() but doesn't pass an index to the callable:
 >
 > http://reference.wolfram.com/mathematica/ref/Table.html

I did need such a function in the past. I have been thinking about the 
name 'generate' but if 'table' is common already, why not. :)

 > So it becomes something like:
 >
 > 10.table!({ return letters.choice; }).writeln;
 >
 > Bye,
 > bearophile

Ali