Return random string from a list of strings? Field Calculator, Python

Question

I am having an issue with producing the correct syntax to place random strings from a list of min into fields with the field calculator.

I have tried the following code:

import random

ran = ['kid', 'many', 'love', 'play']

random.shuffle(ran)

for i in ran:

print i

I am only getting one value? I would like to have a random values throughout the entire field.

Answer 1

You are looping through everything in your list and only outputting the last value after the shuffle. What you need to do is shuffle it for every field, and return a single record from the list for each row.

Try the following - in the field calculator select Python Parser, click on Show Codeblock, and enter this in the Pre-logic Script Code box:

import random
def list_random(ran):
    random.shuffle(ran)
    return ran[0]

And in the expression, call the function and pass your list:

list_random(['kid', 'many', 'love', 'play'])

This will random shuffle the list for each row, and pass the first value in the shuffled list each time.

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Alternatively, instead of shuffling your list, you could select a random list index position for each row:

Pre-logic:

import random
def list_random(ran):
    return ran[random.randint(0,len(ran)-1)]

Expression:

list_random(['kid', 'many', 'love', 'play'])

Answer 2

What do you mean by saying getting one value? When I tested your script, it print shuffled elements from the list. like

import random

ran = ['kid', 'many', 'love', 'play']    
random.shuffle(ran)    
for i in ran:    
  print i

love
many
play
kid