I know this is a rather simple question, but I'm just not too good at maths.
I know how to generate a random float between 0 and 1:
float random = ((float) rand()) / (float) RAND_MAX;
- But what, if I want a function that given a range of two floats, returns a pseudorandom float in that range?
Example:
RandomFloat( 0.78, 4.5 ); //Could return 2.4124, 0.99, 4.1, etc.
float RandomFloat(float a, float b) {
float random = ((float) rand()) / (float) RAND_MAX;
float diff = b - a;
float r = random * diff;
return a + r;
}
This works by returning a
plus something, where something is between 0 and b-a
which makes the end result lie in between a
and b
.
float RandomFloat(float min, float max)
{
// this function assumes max > min, you may want
// more robust error checking for a non-debug build
assert(max > min);
float random = ((float) rand()) / (float) RAND_MAX;
// generate (in your case) a float between 0 and (4.5-.78)
// then add .78, giving you a float between .78 and 4.5
float range = max - min;
return (random*range) + min;
}
Suppose, you have MIN_RAND and MAX_RAND defining the ranges, then you can have the following:
const float MIN_RAND = 2.0, MAX_RAND = 6.0;
const float range = MAX_RAND - MIN_RAND;
float random = range * ((((float) rand()) / (float) RAND_MAX)) + MIN_RAND ;
This will provide you the number scaled to your preferred range.
MIN_RAND, MAX_RAND can be any value, like say 2.5, 6.6
So, the function could be as:
float RandomFloat(float min, float max) {
return (max - min) * ((((float) rand()) / (float) RAND_MAX)) + min ;
}
Random between 2 float :
float random_between_two_int(float min, float max)
{
return (min + 1) + (((float) rand()) / (float) RAND_MAX) * (max - (min + 1));
}
Random between 2 int :
int random_between_two_int(float min, float max)
{
return rand() % (max - min) + min + 1;
}