Random Value Provider

Sometimes, you might need to generate random values as part of your application's configuration values.

The Steeltoe random value generator is a configuration provider that you can use to produce integers, longs, GUIDs, or strings, as the following examples show:

string? randomValue = builder.Configuration["random:value"];
int randomNumber = builder.Configuration.GetValue<int>("random:int");
long randomLargeNumber = builder.Configuration.GetValue<long>("random:long");
Guid randomGuid = builder.Configuration.GetValue<Guid>("random:uuid");
int randomNumberLessThanTen = builder.Configuration.GetValue<int>("random:int(10)");
int randomNumberInRange = builder.Configuration.GetValue<int>("random:int[1024,65536]");

You can also use the generator with property placeholders. For example, consider the following appsettings.json:

{
    "Example": {
        "RandomValue": "${random:value}",
        "RandomNumber": "${random:int}",
        "RandomLargeNumber": "${random:long}",
        "RandomGuid": "${random:uuid}",
        "RandomNumberLessThanTen": "${random:int(10)}",
        "RandomNumberInRange": "${random:int[1024,65536]}"
    }
}

Using the Random Value Provider

You should have a good understanding of how the .NET Configuration System works before starting to use this provider.

To use the Steeltoe random value provider:

1. Add the appropriate NuGet package reference to your project.
2. Add the provider to the Configuration Builder.
3. Access random values from the IConfiguration.

Add NuGet Reference

To use the provider, add a reference to the Steeltoe.Configuration.RandomValue NuGet package.

Add Configuration Provider

To have the ability to generate random values from the configuration, add the random value provider to the ConfigurationBuilder. See the following example:

using Steeltoe.Configuration.RandomValue;

var builder = WebApplication.CreateBuilder(args);
builder.Configuration.AddRandomValueSource();

Tip

To generate random values as part of using placeholders, add the random value provider to the builder before you add the placeholder resolver.

Access Random Value Data

After the configuration has been built, the random value provider can be used to generate values. You can access the configuration data by using the appropriate random keys.

Consider the following HomeController example:

public class HomeController(IConfiguration configuration) : Controller
{
    public IActionResult Index()
    {
        ViewData["random:int"] = configuration["random:int"];
        ViewData["random:long"] = configuration["random:long"];
        ViewData["random:int(10)"] = configuration["random:int(10)"];
        ViewData["random:long(100)"] = configuration["random:long(100)"];
        ViewData["random:int(10,20)"] = configuration["random:int(10,20)"];
        ViewData["random:long(100,200)"] = configuration["random:long(100,200)"];
        ViewData["random:uuid"] = configuration["random:uuid"];
        ViewData["random:string"] = configuration["random:string"];
        return View();
    }
}