Random String Generator Returning Same String [duplicate]

Question

You're making the Random instance in the method, which causes it to return the same values when called in quick succession. I would do something like this:

private static Random random = new Random((int)DateTime.Now.Ticks);//thanks to McAden
private string RandomString(int size)
    {
        StringBuilder builder = new StringBuilder();
        char ch;
        for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
        {
            ch = Convert.ToChar(Convert.ToInt32(Math.Floor(26 * random.NextDouble() + 65)));                 
            builder.Append(ch);
        }

        return builder.ToString();
    }

// get 1st random string 
string Rand1 = RandomString(4);

// get 2nd random string 
string Rand2 = RandomString(4);

// creat full rand string
string docNum = Rand1 + "-" + Rand2;

(modified version of your code)

You're instantiating the Random object inside your method.

The Random object is seeded from the system clock, which means that if you call your method several times in quick succession it'll use the same seed each time, which means that it'll generate the same sequence of random numbers, which means that you'll get the same string.

To solve the problem, move your Random instance outside of the method itself (and while you're at it you could get rid of that crazy sequence of calls to Convert and Floor and NextDouble):

private readonly Random _rng = new Random();
private const string _chars = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ";

private string RandomString(int size)
{
    char[] buffer = new char[size];

    for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)
    {
        buffer[i] = _chars[_rng.Next(_chars.Length)];
    }
    return new string(buffer);
}

A very simple implementation that uses Path.GetRandomFileName():

using System.IO;   
public static string RandomStr()
{
    string rStr = Path.GetRandomFileName();
    rStr = rStr.Replace(".", ""); // For Removing the .
    return rStr;
}

Now just call RandomStr().

As long as you are using Asp.Net 2.0 or greater, you can also use the library call- System.Web.Security.Membership.GeneratePassword, however it will include special characters.

To get 4 random characters with minimum of 0 special characters-

Membership.GeneratePassword(4, 0)

Just for people stopping by and what to have a random string in just one single line of code

int yourRandomStringLength = 12; //maximum: 32
Guid.NewGuid().ToString("N").Substring(0, yourRandomStringLength);

PS: Please keep in mind that yourRandomStringLength cannot exceed 32 as Guid has max length of 32.

This solution is an extension for a Random class.

Usage

class Program
{
    private static Random random = new Random(); 

    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        random.NextString(10); // "cH*%I\fUWH0"
        random.NextString(10); // "Cw&N%27+EM"
        random.NextString(10); // "0LZ}nEJ}_-"
        random.NextString();   // "kFmeget80LZ}nEJ}_-"
    }
}

Implementation

public static class RandomEx
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Generates random string of printable ASCII symbols of a given length
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="r">instance of the Random class</param>
    /// <param name="length">length of a random string</param>
    /// <returns>Random string of a given length</returns>
    public static string NextString(this Random r, int length)
    {
        var data = new byte[length];
        for (int i = 0; i < data.Length; i++)
        {
            // All ASCII symbols: printable and non-printable
            // data[i] = (byte)r.Next(0, 128);
            // Only printable ASCII
            data[i] = (byte)r.Next(32, 127);
        }
        var encoding = new ASCIIEncoding();
        return encoding.GetString(data);
    }

    /// <summary>
    /// Generates random string of printable ASCII symbols
    /// with random length of 10 to 20 chars
    /// </summary>
    /// <param name="r">instance of the Random class</param>
    /// <returns>Random string of a random length between 10 and 20 chars</returns>
    public static string NextString(this Random r)
    {
        int length  = r.Next(10, 21);
        return NextString(r, length);
    }
}