random words

[lee123]

is there a way to make random words or letters instead of numbers?

lee123

[debasisdas]

generate numbers randomly upto max limit of characters.
Generate the number s randomly and convert to charcter using Chr()

[Killer42]

is there a way to make random words or letters instead of numbers?

Can you provide a bit more detail about what you want to do? And the version of VB you're using?

For example, by "words" do you mean real words, or random strings of letters, or what?

[jamesd0142]

Check this .exe file out, if it's what you want, I'll send the code.

[lee123]

Jamesd0142 - well i tried to unzip this but say's there is an error.

hey killer42 yes words, but letters would be nice too. i want to try to build a hang man's game. i didn't know you could have random words or letters for that matter vb6 is the strangest language i had ever tried to learn but if you could give me a hand that would be great!!!

lee123

[9815402440]

Hi.

Add following code in the code window of a form

Option Explicit
    Public Enum GetRndReturnType
        grString = 0
        grNumber = 1
    End Enum
 
Public Function GetRnd(ReturnType As GetRndReturnType, Optional NoOfChars As Integer = 0, Optional UpperBound As Long = 0, Optional LowerBound As Long = 0, Optional IncludeBounds As Boolean = False) As Variant
'******************************************************************
'*1. If ReturnType = gfString then all arguments except NoOfChars *
'*   are ignored.                                                 *
'*2. If ReturnType = grNumber then following rule applies         *
'*      If NoOfChars are specified then all remaining args are    *
'*      ignored; else number is returned between UpperBound and   *
'*      LowerBound numbers (according to the value of             *
'*      IncludeBounds)                                            *
'******************************************************************
    Dim intChars As Integer
    Dim strRetu As Variant
    If ReturnType = grString Then
        strRetu = Empty
        For intChars = 1 To NoOfChars
            strRetu = strRetu & Chr(Int((90 - 65 + 1) * Rnd + 65))
        Next
    Else
        strRetu = Empty
        If NoOfChars > 0 Then
            For intChars = 1 To NoOfChars
                strRetu = strRetu & Int((9 - 0 + 1) * Rnd + 0)
            Next
            strRetu = Val(strRetu)
        Else
            If IncludeBounds Then
                strRetu = Int((UpperBound - LowerBound - 1) * Rnd + LowerBound + 1)
            Else
                strRetu = Int((UpperBound - LowerBound + 1) * Rnd + LowerBound)
            End If
        End If
    End If
    GetRnd = strRetu
End Function
 
Private Sub Command1_Click()
    MsgBox GetRnd(grString, 5)
End Sub

Regards,
Manpreet Singh Dhillon Hoshiarpur

[Killer42]

Jamesd0142 - well i tried to unzip this but say's there is an error.

hey killer42 yes words, but letters would be nice too. i want to try to build a hang man's game. i didn't know you could have random words or letters for that matter vb6 is the strangest language i had ever tried to learn but if you could give me a hand that would be great!!!

I managed to unzip it alright.

I think the simplest thing would be to create an array holding all of your known words. Then you just use a random number as the index to pick one out of the array.

[daniel aristidou]

Check this .exe file out, if it's what you want, I'll send the code.

Note this supposed random generator is not random... the random characters are reproducible.

Would it not be better to use the random number generator in order to completely randomize the characters. Since if used to create passwords it’s unsecure.

[lee123]

how would you generate several questions with a button? i mean if i had a button that i wanted to have questions i have put in code. and everytime you would click it it would show a different question that was in the code. Example:

question 1: what is...blah blah blah
question 2; who is... blah blah blah

and so forth


lee123

[Killer42]

how would you generate several questions with a button? ...

Like I said, put them in an array and randomly choose one.

[Killer42]

Note this supposed random generator is not random... the random characters are reproducible.

Current computer technology isn't actually capable of producing truly random numbers. What they do is use various mathematical techniques to produce "pseudo-random" numbers. As long as this is true, there will probably always be some level of reproducibility.

[Robbie]

show a different question that was in the code. Example:

question 1: what is...blah blah blah
question 2; who is... blah blah blah

If you are not sure how to do it so that 'blah blah blah' can be changed to something else while the program is running (you don't have to change your source code), you could do something like this:

Your array of questions could be set up like this:

Dim QuestionArray(3) As String
QuestionArray(0)="What is OBJECT?"
QuestionArray(1)="Who is OBJECT?"
QuestionArray(2)="Why is OBJECT?"
 

Then you pick a random one as people have shown, for example:

Randomize
Dim ChosenQuestion As String
ChosenQuestion = QuestionArray(Rnd*2)
 

Then you simply replace OBJECT with the object you like by doing something like this:

ChosenQuestion = Replace(QuestionArray,"OBJECT","the dog")
 

For example, ChosenQuestion could now be 'What is the dog?'.
Hope it helps.

Also, Killer, even if we start to 'breed' cyber-organic 'creatures', 'random' numbers will always be made up from facts, even if it is just noise which the computer hears - noise 'sounds' random to us. After all, computers are essentially circuits, which deal with logic and facts. If you try to force yourself to read out random numbers between 1 and 10, it becomes hard, because you soon start to consciously avoid repeating too much, proving that we also use rules when creating 'random' numbers. ;)

[lee123]

thanks people i'll try all of these

lee123

[Killer42]

... Also, Killer, even if we start to 'breed' cyber-organic 'creatures', 'random' numbers will always be made up from facts ...

But if you believe the (apparent) nonsense spouted about quantum mechanics, it may some day be possible to produce (or at least detect) truly random events, and hence values.

I don't think we should completely rule out the possibility, just because we can't do it now. After all, who could ever possibly need more than 640KB of RAM? :)

[Robbie]

I haven't read much about quantum mechanics, but I can understand that someday a computer could recognize if a series of numbers was being made using one of today's algorithms. Then we get further off-topic though when we ask what events are truley random? Surely everything happens as a result of something else, so theoretically if you knew enough you could predict anything and change something slightly now to affect something seemingly unrelated in the future?

[jamesd0142]

so to summarise, theres no possible way to produce truly random secure passwords...?

[Robbie]

so to summarise, theres no possible way to produce truly random secure passwords...?

Well, there are multiple algorithms available which will generate random numbers for you. They become more unpredictable if you mix up different algorithms. For example you could make a random number with algorithm A, multiply it by something random from algorithm B, then divide it by something from algorithm C. Better still, make each character of the password be made by different combinations of algorithms. It gets harder to predict if you do these things.

I certainly wouldn't use VB's random number function to generate secure passwords... but I suggest you look up on ways to create these so-called pseudo-random numbers, which can be converted to characters to make passwords.

[Killer42]

so to summarise, theres no possible way to produce truly random secure passwords...?

Correct. However, pseudo-random passwords can be made pretty secure.

[daniel aristidou]

Hi There is absolutely no such thing as a random number even if you ask someone "give me any number out of the top of your head" since the brain makes asumptions using electronical signals and experiences a person has experienced. Thus the number given is based on facts (ie experiences) but using a very complecated formula that no one at the moment can solve.(as far as i know)
Therefore a truly random number in my view can never actually come into existance.

Anyone agree?