<emphasis role="bold">Non-Random RANDOM</emphasis>
There are occasions when you need a random number, but once
you've gotten it, you want that value to stay the same for the duration of
the workunit. For example, the “problem” with this code is that it will
OUTPUT three different values (this code is in
NonRandomRandom.ECL):
INTEGER1 Rand1 := (RANDOM() % 25) + 1;
OUTPUT(Rand1);
OUTPUT(Rand1);
OUTPUT(Rand1);
To make the “random” value persistent throughout the workunit, you can
simply add the STORED Workflow Service to the attribute definition, like
this (this code is also in NonRandomRandom.ECL):
INTEGER1 Rand2 := (RANDOM() % 25) + 1 : STORED('MyRandomValue');
OUTPUT(Rand2);
OUTPUT(Rand2);
OUTPUT(Rand2);
This will cause the “random” value to be calculated once, then used
throughout the rest of the workunit.
The GLOBAL Workflow Service would accomplish the same thing, but using
STORED has the added advantage that the “random” value used for the workunit
is displayed on the ECL Watch page for that workunit, allowing you to better
debug your code by seeing exactly what “random” value was used for the
job.