Generate a random string that is a valid Java identifier

Summary

The random macro generates a random string that is guaranteed to be a valid Java identifier. The first character is always a letter, and subsequent characters are letters or numbers.

Syntax

${random[;<length>]}

Parameters

• length (optional) - Number of characters to generate (default: 8)

Behavior

• Generates a random string of specified length
• First character is always an ASCII letter (a-z, A-Z)
• Subsequent characters are ASCII letters or numbers (a-z, A-Z, 0-9)
• Result is always a valid Java identifier
• Default length is 8 characters

Examples

Generate default 8-character identifier:

${random}
# Returns: "aB3xY9kL" (example)

Generate specific length:

${random;12}
# Returns: "K5mPqR7sT2uV" (example, 12 chars)

Create unique package name:

test.package=${random;16}

Generate unique property:

temp.id.${random;6}=value

Create unique class names:

TestClass${random;4}

Use Cases

• Generating unique identifiers
• Creating temporary package or class names
• Generating random test data
• Creating unique property keys
• Avoiding naming conflicts
• Temporary file or directory naming

Notes

• Output is always a valid Java identifier
• First character is never a number
• Uses only ASCII letters and numbers (no special characters)
• Not cryptographically secure - don’t use for security purposes
• Each invocation generates a new random value
• See also: ${rand} for random numbers

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See test cases in MacroTestsForDocsExamples.java