How can I get a random number in Kotlin?

Question

A generic method that can return a random integer between 2 parameters like ruby does with rand(0..n).

Any suggestion?

Answer 1

You can create an extension function similar to java.util.Random.nextInt(int) but one that takes an IntRange instead of an Int for its bound:

fun Random.nextInt(range: IntRange): Int {
    return range.start + nextInt(range.last - range.start)
}

You can now use this with any Random instance:

val random = Random()
println(random.nextInt(5..9)) // prints 5, 6, 7, or 8

If you don't want to have to manage your own Random instance then you can define a convenience method using, for example, ThreadLocalRandom.current():

fun rand(range: IntRange): Int {
    return ThreadLocalRandom.current().nextInt(range)
}

Now you can get a random integer as you would in Ruby without having to first declare a Random instance yourself:

rand(5..9) // returns 5, 6, 7, or 8