RetroSearch Browse

Home - News ( United States | United Kingdom | Italy | Germany ) - Football scores

Showing content from https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/powershell/module/microsoft.powershell.utility/get-random below:

Get-Random (Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility) - PowerShell | Microsoft Learn

Get-Random

Gets a random number, or selects objects randomly from a collection.

Syntax RandomNumberParameterSet (Default)

Get-Random
    [[-Maximum] <Object>]
    [-SetSeed <Int32>]
    [-Minimum <Object>]
    [-Count <Int32>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

RandomListItemParameterSet

Get-Random
    [-InputObject] <Object[]>
    [-SetSeed <Int32>]
    [-Count <Int32>]
    [<CommonParameters>]

ShuffleParameterSet

Get-Random
    [-InputObject] <Object[]>
    [-SetSeed <Int32>]
    [-Shuffle]
    [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-Random cmdlet gets a randomly selected number. If you submit a collection of objects to Get-Random, it gets one or more randomly selected objects from the collection.

Without parameters or input, a Get-Random command returns a randomly selected 32-bit unsigned integer between 0 (zero) and [int32]::MaxValue.

You can use the parameters of Get-Random to specify the minimum and maximum values, the number of objects returned from a collection, or a seed number.

Caution

Get-Random doesn't ensure cryptographically secure randomness. The seed value is used for the current command and for all subsequent Get-Random commands in the current session until you use SetSeed again or close the session. You can't reset the seed to its default value.

Deliberately setting the seed results in non-random, repeatable behavior. It should only be used when trying to reproduce behavior, such as when debugging or analyzing a script that includes Get-Random commands. Be aware that the seed value could be set by other code in the same session, such as an imported module.

PowerShell 7.4 includes Get-SecureRandom, which ensures cryptographically secure randomness.

Examples Example 1: Get a random integer

This command gets a random integer between 0 (zero) and Int32.MaxValue.

Get-Random

Example 2: Get a random integer between 0 and 99

Get-Random -Maximum 100

Example 3: Get a random integer between -100 and 99

Get-Random -Minimum -100 -Maximum 100

Example 4: Get a random floating-point number

This command gets a random floating-point number greater than or equal to 10.7 and less than 20.93.

Get-Random -Minimum 10.7 -Maximum 20.93

18.08467273887

Example 5: Get a random integer from an array

This command gets a randomly selected number from the specified array.

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 | Get-Random

Example 6: Get several random integers from an array

This command gets three randomly selected numbers in random order from an array.

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 | Get-Random -Count 3

3
1
13

Example 7: Randomize an entire collection

Starting in PowerShell 7.1, you can use the Shuffle parameter to return the entire collection in a random order.

1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 | Get-Random -Shuffle

Example 8: Get a random non-numeric value

This command returns a random value from a non-numeric collection.

"red", "yellow", "blue" | Get-Random

yellow

Example 9: Use the SetSeed parameter

This example shows the effect of using the SetSeed parameter.

Because SetSeed produces non-random behavior, it's typically used only to reproduce results, such as when debugging or analyzing a script.

# Commands with the default seed are pseudorandom
Get-Random -Maximum 100 -SetSeed 23
Get-Random -Maximum 100
Get-Random -Maximum 100
Get-Random -Maximum 100

# Commands with the same seed aren't random
Get-Random -Maximum 100 -SetSeed 23
Get-Random -Maximum 100 -SetSeed 23
Get-Random -Maximum 100 -SetSeed 23

32
32
32

# SetSeed results in a repeatable series
Get-Random -Maximum 100 -SetSeed 23
Get-Random -Maximum 100
Get-Random -Maximum 100
Get-Random -Maximum 100

Example 10: Get random files

These commands get a randomly selected sample of 50 files from the C: drive of the local computer.

$Files = Get-ChildItem -Path C:\* -Recurse
$Sample = $Files | Get-Random -Count 50

Example 11: Roll fair dice

This example rolls a fair die 1200 times and counts the outcomes. The first command, ForEach-Object repeats the call to Get-Random from the piped in numbers (1-6). The results are grouped by their value with Group-Object and formatted as a table with Select-Object.

1..1200 | ForEach-Object {
    1..6 | Get-Random
} | Group-Object | Select-Object Name,Count

Name Count
---- -----
1      206
2      199
3      196
4      226
5      185
6      188

Example 12: Use the Count parameter

You can now use the Count parameter without piping objects to Get-Random. The following example gets three random numbers less than 10.

Get-Random -Count 3 -Maximum 10

9
0
8

Example 13: Use the InputObject parameter with an empty string or $null

In this example, the InputObject parameter specifies an array that contains an empty string ('') and $null.

Get-Random -InputObject @('a','',$null)

Get-Random returns either a, empty string, or $null. The empty string displays as a blank line and $null returns to a PowerShell prompt.

Parameters -Count

Specifies the number of random objects to return. The default is 1.

When used with InputObject containing a collection:

Each randomly selected item is returned only once.
If the value of Count exceeds the number of objects in the collection, all objects in the collection are returned in random order.

Parameter properties Type: Int32 Default value: None Supports wildcards: False DontShow: False Parameter sets RandomNumberParameterSet Position: Named Mandatory: False Value from pipeline: False Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False RandomListItemParameterSet Position: Named Mandatory: False Value from pipeline: False Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False -InputObject

Specifies a collection of objects. Get-Random gets randomly selected objects in random order from the collection up to the number specified by Count. Enter the objects, a variable that contains the objects, or a command or expression that gets the objects. You can also pipe a collection of objects to Get-Random.

Beginning in PowerShell 7, the InputObject parameter accepts arrays that can contain an empty string or $null. The array can be sent down the pipeline or as an InputObject parameter value.

Parameter properties Type:

Object[]

Default value: None Supports wildcards: False DontShow: False Parameter sets RandomListItemParameterSet Position: 0 Mandatory: True Value from pipeline: True Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False ShuffleParameterSet Position: 0 Mandatory: True Value from pipeline: True Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False -Maximum

Specifies a maximum value for the random number. Get-Random returns a value that's less than the maximum (not equal). Enter an integer, a double-precision floating-point number, or an object that can be converted to an integer or double, such as a numeric string ("100").

The value of Maximum must be greater than (not equal to) the value of Minimum. If the value of Maximum or Minimum is a floating-point number, Get-Random returns a randomly selected floating-point number.

On a 64-bit computer, if the value of Minimum is a 32-bit integer, the default value of Maximum is Int32.MaxValue.

If the value of Minimum is a double (a floating-point number), the default value of Maximum is Double.MaxValue. Otherwise, the default value is Int32.MaxValue.

Parameter properties Type: Object Default value: None Supports wildcards: False DontShow: False Parameter sets RandomNumberParameterSet Position: 0 Mandatory: False Value from pipeline: False Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False -Minimum

Specifies a minimum value for the random number. Enter an integer, a double-precision floating-point number, or an object that can be converted to an integer or double, such as a numeric string ("100"). The default value is 0 (zero).

The value of Minimum must be less than (not equal to) the value of Maximum. If the value of Maximum or Minimum is a floating-point number, Get-Random returns a randomly selected floating-point number.

Parameter properties Type: Object Default value: None Supports wildcards: False DontShow: False Parameter sets RandomNumberParameterSet Position: Named Mandatory: False Value from pipeline: False Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False -SetSeed

Specifies a seed value for the random number generator. When you use SetSeed, the cmdlet generates pseudorandom numbers, which isn't cryptographically secure.

Caution

Setting the seed results in non-random behavior. It should only be used when trying to reproduce behavior, such as when debugging or analyzing a script that includes Get-Random commands.

This seed value is used for the current command and for all subsequent Get-Random commands in the current session until you use SetSeed again or close the session. You can't reset the seed to its default value.

Parameter properties Type:

Nullable<T>[Int32]

Default value: None Supports wildcards: False DontShow: False Parameter sets (All) Position: Named Mandatory: False Value from pipeline: False Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False -Shuffle

Returns the entire collection in a randomized order.

Parameter properties Type: SwitchParameter Default value: None Supports wildcards: False DontShow: False Parameter sets ShuffleParameterSet Position: Named Mandatory: True Value from pipeline: False Value from pipeline by property name: False Value from remaining arguments: False CommonParameters

This cmdlet supports the common parameters: -Debug, -ErrorAction, -ErrorVariable, -InformationAction, -InformationVariable, -OutBuffer, -OutVariable, -PipelineVariable, -ProgressAction, -Verbose, -WarningAction, and -WarningVariable. For more information, see about_CommonParameters.

Inputs Object

You can pipe any object to this cmdlet. It selects values randomly from the piped objects.

Outputs Int32 Int64 Double PSObject

This cmdlet returns an integer or floating-point number, or an object selected randomly from a submitted collection.

Notes

Get-Random doesn't always return the same data type as the input value. The following table shows the output type for each of the numeric input types.

Input Type Output Type SByte Double Byte Double Int16 Double UInt16 Double Int32 Int32 UInt32 Double Int64 Int64 UInt64 Double Double Double Single Double

Beginning in Windows PowerShell 3.0, Get-Random supports 64-bit integers. In Windows PowerShell 2.0, all values are cast to System.Int32.

Beginning in PowerShell 7, the InputObject parameter in the RandomListItemParameterSet parameter set accepts arrays that contain an empty string or $null. In earlier PowerShell versions, only the Maximum parameter in the RandomNumberParameterSet parameter set accepted an empty string or $null.

Get-SecureRandom

RetroSearch is an open source project built by @garambo | Open a GitHub Issue

Search and Browse the WWW like it's 1997 | Search results from DuckDuckGo

HTML: 3.2 | Encoding: UTF-8 | Version: 0.7.4