my @values = values %hash;
my $rand_value = $values[rand @values];
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Mark

$array[int(rand(scalar(@array)))];
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You can do much the same thing, though, by pulling the hash keys into a list and choosing one randomly:

$hk = (keys %hash)[int(rand(scalar(keys %hash)))];
$hv = $hash{$hk};
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@arr = keys %hash;
$hk = $arr[int(rand(scalar(@arr)))];
$hv = $hash{$hk};
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With both of the hash solutions, you end up with two copies of all the keys, so it's less memory-efficient than an array, but probably fine if you have a few thousand entries or less.

$array[int(rand(scalar(@array)))];
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Of course you can just write

$array[rand @array];
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which will do exactly the same thing and is a bit less distracting to read.

Makeshifts last the longest.

I saw that in another post. Do you know why this is? It seems like rand is unlikely to pick an integer, and $array[3.14159] seems nonsensical, but I tried it and it works...

my $random_card = (values %flash)[rand values %flash];
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Makeshifts last the longest.

If I understand you right you do not want just a single random element. You want all elements, but just in a random order, right?

If so you should have a look at Shuffle or List::Util::shuffle().

Jenda
Always code as if the guy who ends up maintaining your code will be a violent psychopath who knows where you live.
   -- Rick Osborne

Edit by castaway: Closed small tag in signature

Perlfunc / sort:
    The comparison function is required to behave. If it returns
    inconsistent results (sometimes saying $x[1] is less than $x[2]
    and sometimes saying the opposite, for example) the results are
    not well-defined.
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I guess that means you don't really know what your code will give you. (Which kind of seems to be the point of it, but in another way. :))

ihb

No, that doesn't work right. See When the Best Solution Isn't.

Makeshifts last the longest.