One interesting function from the random module is randint().
This
function takes two integer arguments and returns a randomly selected inte-
ger between (and including) those numbers.
Here’s how to generate a random number between 1 and 6:
>>> from random import randint
>>> randint(1, 6)
3
Another useful function is choice(). This function takes in a list or tuple
and returns a randomly chosen element:
>>> from random import choice
>>> players = ['charles', 'martina', 'michael', 'florence', 'eli']
>>> first_up = choice(players)
>>> first_up
'florence'
The random module shouldn’t be used when building security-related
applications, but it works well for many fun and interesting projects.
NOTE You can also download modules from external sources. You’ll see a number of these
examples in Part II, where we’ll need external modules to complete each project.
TRY IT YOURSELF
9-13. Dice: Make a class Die with one attribute called sides, which has a
default value of 6. Write a method called roll_die() that prints a random num-
ber between 1 and the number of sides the die has. Make a 6-sided die and
roll it 10 times.
Make a 10-sided die and a 20-sided die. Roll each die 10 times.
9-14. Lottery: Make a list or tuple containing a series of 10 numbers and 5 letters.
Randomly select 4 numbers or letters from the list and print a message saying that
any ticket matching these 4 numbers or letters wins a prize.
9-15. Lottery Analysis: You can use a loop to see how hard it might be to win
the kind of lottery you just modeled. Make a list or tuple called my_ticket. Write
a loop that keeps pulling numbers until your ticket wins. Print a message report-
ing how many times the loop had to run to give you a winning ticket.
9-16. Python Module of the Week: One excellent resource for exploring the
Python standard library is a site called Python Module of the Week. Go to
[Link] and look at the table of contents. Find a module that looks
interesting to you and read about it, perhaps starting with the random module.
180 Chapter 9
