[Python] Random name generator

[Kulverstukas]

puddi requested this script, so I made it.
This script takes a list of names and generates a new list by concatenating 2 names. Nothing fancy.
Comments on the code?

Project folder:
http://newage.ql.lt/projects/python/RandomName/

Code: [Select]

'''
Created on: 2011-06-13
Last update: nil
Kulverstukas
'''

import sys
import os
import string
import random

#==============================
def GetFromArg(What, FromWhere):
    for GotArg in FromWhere:
        if string.find(GotArg, What) != -1:
            GotArg = string.replace(GotArg, What, '')
            break
    return GotArg
#==============================
print
print 'Random name generator - takes a list, randomly picks out 2 words and puts them together to make a full name'
print 'Command line arguments:  --list=NAME -- file with names'
print '                         --number=X -- number of names to generate'
print 'This script automagicaly writes everything to a file where the script was ran'
#==============================
arguments = sys.argv[1:]
if len(arguments) < 2:
    print 'Not enough arguments, nigger!'
    exit()
#==============================
list = GetFromArg('--list=',arguments)
number = GetFromArg('--number=',arguments)
number = int(number)
#==============================
if os.path.isdir(list) == True:
    print 'File does not exist!'
    exit()
try:     
    ListOfNames = [] # initiate the array
    FileWithNames = file(list,'r') # assign the file
    for Temp in FileWithNames: # read whole file into an array
        ListOfNames.append(string.strip(Temp))
    FileWithNames.close()   
except:
    print 'Something went wrong :( exiting...'
    exit()   
#==============================
TempInt = 0
GeneratedNameArray = []  # initiate another array
GeneratedName = ''
while TempInt != number:
    RandNumb1 = random.randint(1,len(ListOfNames)-1)
    RandNumb2 = random.randint(1,len(ListOfNames)-1)
    GeneratedNameArray.append(ListOfNames[RandNumb1]+' '+ListOfNames[RandNumb2])
    TempInt = TempInt + 1   
#==============================
FileWithNames = file('Generated_names','w')
for Temp in GeneratedNameArray: FileWithNames.write(Temp+'\r\n')
FileWithNames.close()
print
print 'Successfully generated '+str(number)+' names!'
#==============================



[puddi]

thanks +1

[10n1z3d]

The following lines are pretty messy:

Code: [Select]

TempInt = 0
GeneratedNameArray = []  # initiate another array
GeneratedName = ''
while TempInt != number:
    RandNumb1 = random.randint(1,len(ListOfNames)-1)
    RandNumb2 = random.randint(1,len(ListOfNames)-1)
    GeneratedNameArray.append(ListOfNames[RandNumb1]+' '+ListOfNames[RandNumb2])
    TempInt = TempInt + 1
First, you have declared the GeneratedName variable, but you are not using it anywere in the code. Second, your while loop doesn't look right, something iike this would be better:

Code: [Select]

while len(GeneratedNameArray) <= number:
    #do_something()
Third, you are not checking for duplicate names. Also, using the choice() method from the random module would be much better instead of generating pseudo-random integers.

Therefore, the above code could just become:

Code: [Select]

GeneratedNameArray = []
while len(GeneratedNameArray) <= number:
    name = '{0} {1}'.format(random.choice(ListOfNames), random.choice(ListOfNames))
    if not name in GeneratedNameArray:
        GeneratedNameArray.append(name)

There are more optimization which could be done like appending the names to the output file straight from the while loop and like I said in one of the other topics, the GetFromArg function is pretty useless. Again, you should definitely read about the naming conventions in Python and it's syntax (PEP8).

[Kulverstukas]

<...> Also, using the choice() method from the random module would be much better instead of generating pseudo-random integers.

Thanks. It was just what I was looking for at the beginning, but I guess I just missed that element.
Reading thet PEP8 paper now