Topical Information

This lab should provide you with practice in file handling, libraries, and random variate generation.

Program Information

Write a program that allows the user to create files of random data. They should be offered a menu of possibilities:

    1) create random Whole number data file
    2) create random Decimal number data file
    3) create random Character data file
    4) Quit program

The first 3 options should ask for appropriate bounds. Your program should make sure they are in order before passing them to your random value generation function. (The overloaded ones we did in class, remember? — place these in a 'random' library.)

Then, ask how many random values to generate and what file to place them in. Assuming the file opened correctly, proceed to generate all requested random values.

The menu should continue to loop until the quit option is chosen. Options should be choosable by either the number or the capitalized word. (For example, to quit, they should be able to enter 4, Q, or q.)

Thought Provoking Questions

  1. How many functions are in your random library? Are they regular or inline functions? Do you need an implementation file for your library?

  2. Are there any functions not immediately useful for these 4 options? Is this okay? Should you remove functions from a library just because a certain program doesn't use them?

  3. Can you show why the integer and floating point formulas given in class actually work? Please do so...

  4. How many files will you have open at any time during processing of a single menu option? (Adjust this answer if you take the programming option presented below.)

This assignment is (Level 2.5).

Options