Random element from string array

Question

I have a string array:

String[] fruits = {"Apple","Mango","Peach","Banana","Orange","Grapes","Watermelon","Tomato"};

and i am getting random element from this by:

String random = (fruits[new Random().nextInt(fruits.length)]);

now i want to get the number at which apple is present when i hit the button to get random fruit, like when i press randon button it gives me Banana..and also should give me that element number is 3

I get the element but have problem getting the element number, so please help me out

when you say element number, you mean the index of the fruit in your array? — omi0301, Nov 12 '12 at 08:40
See also: [How to randomly pick an element from an array](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8065532/how-to-randomly-pick-an-element-from-an-array) — Stephen Ostermiller, Apr 02 '16 at 10:34

score 68 · Accepted Answer · answered Nov 12 '12 at 08:44

Just store the index generated in a variable, and then access the array using this varaible:

int idx = new Random().nextInt(fruits.length);
String random = (fruits[idx]);

P.S. I usually don't like generating new Random object per randoization - I prefer using a single Random in the program - and re-use it. It allows me to easily reproduce a problematic sequence if I later find any bug in the program.

According to this approach, I will have some variable Random r somewhere, and I will just use:

int idx = r.nextInt(fruits.length)

However, your approach is OK as well, but you might have hard time reproducing a specific sequence if you need to later on.

using generics, it drills down to `private static T randomFrom(T... items) { return items[new Random().nextInt(items.length)]; }` — Avinash R, Sep 17 '14 at 21:07

Random element from string array

1 Answers1

Linked

Related