Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- syntax:functions:random [2016/06/20 11:57] – dmitry
+++ syntax:functions:random [2021/10/15 14:56] (current) – Add See also section. craigt
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-===== Random() =====
+====== Random() ======
+Category:  Number function
-Random number between 0 and 1.
+\\
+=====Description=====
+This function generates a random number between 0 and 1.
-^  Example  ^  Result  ^
+\\
-| random()  |  0.37130572949209748204 |
+=====Arguments=====
+This function does not require arguments.
+**Return value type:**  Number
+\\
+=====Remarks=====
+====Generating random numbers within a given range====
+To generate a random number between a specific minimum and maximum value, use the following calculation  (extra spaces have been added for clarity):
+  ( random() * ( [number of values in range] - 1) ) + [minimum value]
+The expression to generate a random number between 1 and 10 would be the following:
+  ( random() * (10-1) ) +1
+or
+  ( random() * 9 ) +1
+The expression above will provide a decimal result you will need to round for an integer result:
+  roundxl( ( random() * 9 ) +1 , 0 )  //Excel-style rounding
+\\
+====Determining the number of values in a given range====
+The number of values in a given range is determined as:
+  (max value) - (min value) + 1
+This can be deceiving at first glance.  For example, the range between 20 and 40 includes //21// values.
+\\
+=====Examples=====
+Extra spaces added for clarity.
+  random() //Returns 0.37130572949209748204
+  ( random() * 10 ) +2   //Random number between 2 and 12, unrounded.
+  roundxl( ( random() * 20 ) +20 , 0 )  //Random number between 20 and 40, rounded to an integer.
+\\
+=====See also=====
+  * [[syntax:functions:randbetween|RandBetween(min_num, max_num)]]