Passing calculated values to random_int does not work as expected

[sagikazarmark]

I'm trying to pick a random element from a list. Here is what I tried so far:

let regions = ["us-east-1", "us-west-1", "us-east-2", "us-west-2"]

let region = $regions.index(random_int(max: $regions.length()))

However, this always returns the last item in the list. Checking the output of the call to random_int reveals that it always outputs 4.

Changing $regions.length() to a static number works as expected.

Changing the code to the following also works fine:

let regions = ["us-east-1", "us-west-1", "us-east-2", "us-west-2"]

let region = $regions.index(random_int() % $regions.length())

Not sure if this is a bug or a known limitations. I also wasn't sure how to search the issue tracker for potentially existing issues, my attempts didn't reveal any.

[mihaitodor]

Hey @sagikazarmark that's because the random_int() function has a seed parameter which is set to 0 by default (docs here). Try random_int(seed:timestamp_unix_nano(), max: $regions.length()).

PS: Converting this into a discussion as mentioned in #2026.