how to pick a random ten (String) from an array in swift

Question

could anyone teach me how to select an item (String) from an array by using arc4random_uniform()? I tried but I couldn't because arc4random_uniform can be used for selecting Int.

Have a look at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/24003191/pick-a-random-element-from-an-array — ABakerSmith, May 17 '15 at 16:48
Basically as shown in the question above, you just have to declare the random number as a Integer like so `Int(randomNumber)` That makes the type of your number an integer instead of a UInt32 — Brennan Adler, May 17 '15 at 18:22

score 3 · Answer 1 · edited May 05 '18 at 21:59

Swift 3 Extension

While Oisdk answer works, a extension could be more useful instead of writing that coding over and over again.

import Foundation

extension Array {

  func randomElement() -> Element  {
     if isEmpty { return nil }
     return self[Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(self.count)))]
  }
}

let myArray = ["dog","cat","bird"]

myArray.randomElement() //dog 
myArray.randomElement() //dog 
myArray.randomElement() //cat 
myArray.randomElement() //bird

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered May 18 '15 at 08:33

2

Subscripting an array takes and Int, but arc4random_uniform returns a UInt32. So you just need to convert between those types.

import Foundation

let array = ["ab", "cd", "ef", "gh"]

let randomItem = array[Int(arc4random_uniform(UInt32(array.count)))]

Also, arc4random_uniform gives a random number less that its argument. So just cast array.count to a UInt32, and it'll work.

answered May 18 '15 at 08:33

oisdk

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This will crash if there are no items. – Alec O May 05 '18 at 13:31

how to pick a random ten (String) from an array in swift

2 Answers2

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