NAME

Random::Names - Create random names to be used as identifiers

SYNOPSIS

  use Random::Names;

  # procedural interface
  say docker-name;      # e.g. epic-engelbart
  say class-name;       # e.g. Mendeleev
  say identifier-name;  # e.g. dhawan

  my @dn = docker-name(10);      # get array with 10 unique docker-names
  my @cn = class-name(10);       # get array with 10 unique class-names
  my @in = identifier-name(10);  # get array with 10 unique identifiers

  # object interface
  my $rn = Random::Names.new;  # set up unique pool of names
  say $rn.docker-name;
  say $rn.class-name;
  say $rn.identifier-name;

DESCRIPTION

Sometimes you need some placeholder names for things that do not have a name yet. This module provides a way to create names for things that are both fun and interesting. The names from which it selects, are the surnames of individuals that are famous in the history of scientific exploration and engineering.

It offers 3 types of random names:

• docker-name

Similar to how Docker names unnamed containers.

• class-name

Title-cased names used for classes in Raku.

• identifier-name

Just a random name that can be used as an identifier.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Each string that is being returned by this module, also has a .WHY method attached to it that will give additional information about the person to which the name is attached. E.g.;

my $name = identifier-name;
say $name;  # einstein
my $why = $name.WHY;
say $why;  # Albert Einstein invented the general theory of relativity.

And that string has a .LINK method that produces a link to a page that will show you more information about that person:

say $why.LINK;  # https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Einstein

FUNCTIONS

docker-name

Return a random string similar to how Docker names unnamed containers, such as: interesting-mendeleev, epic-engelbart, lucid-dhawan, recursing-cori, ecstatic-liskov and busy-ardinghelli. These are made from a random selection of an adjective and a surname.

Optionally takes the number of docker-names to be returned.

  say docker-name;          # e.g. epic-engelbart
  .say for docker-name(5);  # 5 different docker names

class-name

Return a random string that can be used as a name of a class, such as Mendeleev.

Optionally takes the number of class names to be returned.

  say class-name;          # e.g. Engelbart
  .say for class-name(5);  # 5 different class names

identifier-name

Return a random string that can be used as an identifier, such as dhawan.

Optionally takes the number of identifiers to be returned.

  say identifier-name;          # e.g. cori
  .say for identifier-name(5);  # 5 different identifiers

METHODS

The method interface has two different modes of operation. When called as a class method, the semantics are exactly the same as the functional interface.

When called on a Random::Names instance, it will only produce each adjective and each surname only once. This means that any mix of calls to docker-name, class-name or identifier-name, the returned strings will always be unique.

docker-name

Return a random string similar to how Docker names unnamed containers. These are made from a random selection of an adjective and a surname.

Optionally takes the number of docker-names to be returned.

  my $rn = Random::Names.new;
  say $rn.docker-name;          # e.g. epic-engelbart
  .say for $rn.docker-name(5);  # 5 different docker names

class-name

Return a random string that can be used as a name of a class, such as Mendeleev.

Optionally takes the number of class names to be returned.

  my $rn = Random::Names.new;
  say $rn.class-name;          # e.g. Engelbart
  .say for $rn.class-name(5);  # 5 different class names

identifier-name

Return a random string that can be used as an identifier, such as dhawan.

Optionally takes the number of identifiers to be returned.

  my $rn = Random::Names.new;
  say $rn.identifier-name;          # e.g. cori
  .say for $rn.identifier-name(5);  # 5 different identifiers

AUTHOR

Elizabeth Mattijsen [email protected], inspired by the Perl module Data::Docker::Names by Mikko Johannes Koivunalho [email protected].

Source can be located at: https://github.com/lizmat/Random-Names . Comments and Pull Requests are welcome.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

Copyright 2020, 2021 Elizabeth Mattijsen

This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the Artistic License 2.0.