Practical Randomness in Softanza
Softanza makes it simple to apply probabilities—ideal for AI simulations, statistical modeling, and game mechanics.
by Mansour Ayouni · in the repository since 2025-09-14 · feature essay · area Numeric & optimization
Softanza builds on Haro’s C-based random engine by offering semantic APIs that cover the most common randomness needs in programming. Instead of low-level calls, you get expressive functions for probabilities, list shuffling, string randomization, and reproducible test data.
Probabilistic Functions
aNumbers = [ 12, 9, 10, 7, 25, 12, 9, 8 ] ? Some(aNumbers) #--> [ 12, 10, 7 ] ? Few(NumbersIn(-5:5)) #--> [ 0, -4 ] ? Most(PositiveNumbersIn(-5:5)) #--> [ 1, 2, 4, 5 ] ? Half(OddNumbersIn(-5:5)) #--> [ 1, 5 ]
illustration
Example: Loot Drop System
acTreasureChest = [ "gold", "sword", "potion", "gem", "scroll" ] acRareItems = Few(acTreasureChest) # 10% chance items ? @@(acRareItems) #--> [ "gold" ] acCommonItems = Most(acTreasureChest) # 70% chance items ? @@(acCommonItems) #--> [ "sword", "gem", "gold", "scroll" ]
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For finer control, you can specify exact probabilities using the extended forms:
? SomeXT(NumbersIn(-5:5), 20/100) #--> [ -5, 0, 4 ] ? MostXT(PositiveNumbersIn(-5:5), 90/100) #--> [ 3, 4, 5, 1 ]
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Configuration Functions
You can configure randomness globally: set the probability ratio for Some() and control the decimal precision (round in Haro/Softanza).
# Default configuration ? DefaultSome() #--> 0.3 # Change decimal precision (e.g., for currency) SetRandomRound(4) # Set volatility probability (25%) SetSome(0.25)
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This is especially useful in domains like financial simulations, where precision and consistency matter.
Core Random Functions
For low-level randomness, Softanza provides number generators with seed control—perfect for reproducible results.
? ARandomNumber() #--> 133_322_384 ? ARandomNumberXT(77) #--> 32_438_4546
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Generate test data that can be replayed identically:
nTestSeed = 12345
anUserIds = []
for i = 1 to 1000
anUserIds + ARandomNumberXT(nTestSeed + i)
next
? ShowShort(anUserIds)
#--> [ 7587, 7590, 7593, "...", 10843, 10846, 10849 ]illustration
Generating Random Numbers
Produce numbers within constraints:
? ARandomNumberLessThan(10) #--> 2 ? RandomNumberBetween(100, 150) #--> 149 ? NRandomNumbersBetweenU(3, 100, 110) #--> [ 102, 109, 105 ]
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Softanza also supports negative numbers:
? random01() #--> 0.61 ? ARandomNumberBetween(-3.5, 2.8) #--> -2.45 SetRandomRound(3) ? ARandomNumberLessThan01(0.7) #--> 0.557 ? StzRandom(-10) #--> -5 ? SomeRandomNumbersBetween(-10, -1) #--> [ -10, -10, -4 ]
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Random Strings and Lists
Randomness isn’t only about numbers—you can generate strings and shuffle lists too.
Q("123456789") {
? ARandomSection()
#--> "234"
? SomeRandomSections()
#--> [ "345678", "4567" ]
}
Q("SOFTANZA") {
? ARandomChar()
#--> "T"
? ARandomCharAfterPosition(4)
#--> "A"
? ARandomCharExcept("A")
#--> "S"
}illustration
Example: Password Generator
cCharSet = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ" +
"0123456789" + "#!@~_" +
"abcdefghijklmnopqurstuvwxyz"
cPassword = ""
for i = 1 to 8
cPassword += Q(cCharSet).ARandomChar()
next
? cPassword
#--> @3Ond72H
#--> 2z47AD@Z
#--> LrmaUo7Zillustration
Shuffling and Sampling
# Full shuffle aDeck = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, "A", "B", "C", "D" ] o1 = new stzList(aDeck) o1.Randomize() ? @@(o1.Content()) #--> [ "D", 4, "A", 3, "C", 2, 1, "B" ] # Shuffle only numbers aDeck = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, "A", "B", "C", "D" ] o1 = new stzList(aDeck) o1.RandomizeNumbers() ? @@(o1.Content()) #--> [ 4, 1, 2, 3, "A", "B", "C", "D" ] # Shuffle only a section aDeck = [ 1, 2, 3, 4, "A", "B", "C", "D" ] o1 = new stzList(aDeck) o1.RandomizeSection(5, 8) ? @@(o1.Content()) #--> [ 1, 2, 3, 4, "D", "A", "C", "B" ]
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Card Game Example
nCards = 1:52 oGameDeck = new stzList(nCards) oGameDeck.Randomize() anPlayerHand = oGameDeck.FirstN(5) ? @@(anPlayerHand) #--> [ 48, 20, 6, 51, 35 ]
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And for simple item selection:
? ARandomItemIn("A":"E")
#--> B
? NRandomItemsInU(3, "A":"E")
#--> [ "B", "E", "A" ]
acPlayerChoices = [ "rock", "paper", "scissors" ]
? ARandomItemIn(acPlayerChoices)
#--> "paper"illustration
✨ With these APIs, randomness in Softanza becomes predictable when needed, configurable when required, and expressive by design.
Cite
Mansour Ayouni. "Practical Randomness in Softanza". Softanza narrations, 2025. https://mayouni.github.io/stzsite/en/narrations/stz-random-narrration.html
Not run: its code touches files, the network, the clock or chance. The article is published as written; its blocks are illustrations. The code of the articles is Haro code. Where an article was written before the language took its present name, the name was changed and nothing else. Genre, area and series read from the file's name, the year from its first commit: derived, until the article carries its own header. The file on GitHub(opens in a new tab)