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I'm trying to create a random string with numbers and letters and I found this function and thought it would be good, but I don't know if it is the correct way to create a true random string or if there is an easier way to do this? Below is what I have:

function randomGen() {
    $chars = '0123456789abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ';
    $length = strlen($chars);
    $random;

    for ($i = 0; $i < 8; $i++) {
        $random = $chars[rand(0, $length - 1)];
    }

    return $random;
}
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  • What is wrong with the function ? Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 17:42
  • Nothing is wrong as far as syntax. I just am not sure if this is the best way. Seeing some of the other answers I can tell that I'm using more code than necessary. Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 17:43
  • use str_shuffle instead of writing separate function. Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 17:43
  • 1
    You should have a look on this project : github.com/fzaninotto/Faker Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 17:43
  • Sorry string random must be of laravel itself Commented Jun 2, 2015 at 17:43

1 Answer 1

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You could try using $random = substr(str_shuffle(MD5(microtime())), 0, 8);, which will output the same amount of random characters as you have in your example. I actually prefer this method over most as it doesn't require you to put in the expected characters and even more importantly, it can be done in one line of code!

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