Generate random number in LaTeX

It is possible to generate random numbers in a TeX document. For a gimmick I wanted a random line from a text file in my slides. The first step was to find a random number.

A random number generator is provided by the package lcg. The generator can be initialized with a given positive value. The same positive seed results in the same random numbers. A seed of -1 initializes the generator with a more or less random value, based on the current time.

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\documentclass{book}

\usepackage{lcg}

\newcounter{SavedRandom}
\newcommand{\NewRandom}

\newcommand{\GenerateRandumNumber}[2]
{
 \setcounter{SavedRandom}{0}
 \reinitrand[first=1, last=#1, counter=FileRandom, seed=-1, quiet=y]

 \rand
 \setcounter{SavedRandom}{\value{FileRandom}}
 \renewcommand{#2}{\arabic{SavedRandom}}
}

\begin{document}

\GenerateRandumNumber{15}{\NewRandom}

Random number: \NewRandom

\end{document}

In addition it needs a counter to store the random value (SavedRandom in my example) and a command to export the random number (NewRandom in the example) into the text.

The function which initializes the random generator accepts two parameters: the highest possible random number (the min value is set to 1 in my example) and the command to store the generated random number (NewRandom). The number is exported as arabian number, it’s also possible to use roman numerals:

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\roman{SavedRandom}

or alphabetic characters:

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\alph{SavedRandom}