Add new data types

[fwdekker]

There's a number of new data types that Randomness could generate:

• Dates/times
• Colours
• Coordinates
• Email addresses
• Phone numbers
• Lorem ipsum

These data types can be created by combining existing data types. To prevent flooding the user with dozens of options for generating data, there should be a flexible system that can create any of these.

Here are two ideas on how to do this:

1. Add a "Miscellaneous" data type that allows the user to pick from the data types listed above, and shows different settings for different data types. Using the quick scheme switcher, the user should be able to quickly switch between data types.
2. The user is given access to a special "language" that allows them to combine data types arbitrarily. For example, the user can write %i[small]-%s[long] to create a string starting with an integer that was generated using the scheme small, followed by a -, and completed by a string that was generated using the scheme long. This language is accessible as a sixth data type, similar to the first idea.

[jrborases]

I have found this plugin very useful of late, thank you for making it. I read the issue description above, and would like to offer my two cents, if that's okay.

Don't overcomplicate it. LOAD this thing up with available datatypes, then let the user choose which ones they want to see! I am not an IntelliJ plugin developer, only an avid user, but a dream scenario would be where I could choose which data types show up in my hotmenu, e.g. "String", "Integer", "Email", "Date", "UUID", etc.

Simply checking checkboxes in the settings panel to choose which ones I don't want to see (maybe I'm not doing email testing, shazam and click and ☑️ becomes ❌ and Email is no longer available to select in the menu).

If you would like me to file this as a separate feature request, I can.

[fwdekker]

Thank you for the suggestions! I agree that the ideas I described above are overcomplicated, I just couldn't think of a better way to achieve multiple data types cleanly. I really like your idea as it allows the addition of many data types without flooding the user. On the other hand, I don't want to flood the settings dialog with a bazillion options in the side bar either, since it feels like there should be a clean way to express multiple types in a unified way. Then again, unifying it right away sounds like premature optimisation, so I think I'll try to draft/implement your suggestion and play with it until it feels natural. I'll keep you updated, though I'm afraid I won't have a lot of time the coming weeks.

No need to create a separate feature request by the way, because this issue has turned into your feature request ;-)

[AlexPernot]

Hi! Great plugin, saves me a ton of time. I think @jrborases' idea is the best compromise too.

I don't know if it's the best place to suggest a data type, but the ability to generate MongoDB's ObjectIds would be great! I use this snippet at the moment, if you need inspiration. :)

[fwdekker]

Thanks for the suggestion, @AlexPernot! I'll consider Objectids as well when adding new data types.

[fwdekker]

I have thought of a potential solution to this issue. My hope is that this solution introduces the capability the create any sort of random data the user wants, but at the same time keeps the interface neat and simple like it is right now. Put simply, users will have access to a number of presets for integers, words, etc., like they do currently, and additionally for telephone numbers, colours, etc. These can be configured and adjusted with the same ease as they can currently. However, users will additionally be able to create their own data types without much hassle using a special syntax as I described in the top comment in this thread. The "simple" mode and "advanced" mode are the same system in the background, so users can start with a preset and turn it into an advanced one, and the other way around. This way, users who don't need advanced capabilities will have a simple user experience.

The plan to implement this system is as follows:

• Allow customization of list popup #363: Allow users to customise their quick action popup, as suggested by @jrborases.
• Unified data syntax #365: Develop the syntax for describing data types. It will be used in the background for now.
• UDS dialog #366: Remove separate settings for integers, decimals, etc. from the main settings dialog, and instead allow users to configure each data type separately in a special dialog that allows users to seamlessly switch between simple editing with checkboxes and radio buttons (exactly as it happens right now) and the advanced syntax.

It will probably take several weeks or months to implement this, depending on how much time I have. Once I have a working version, I'll be sure to ask others to test the ease of use before deploying it.

I would love to see feedback, comments, or concerns on my proposal :)

[jrborases]

@fwdekker I'm still following this repo and the tickets being filed. Super happy with the progress and roadmap, keep it up! Sign me up to be a beta tester when this feature comes out :)

(deleted original comment on my alt account and rewrote it on my personal account)

[solonovamax]

Going to bump this with a few suggestions:

1. Here's a few new datatypes I thought might be useful:

   • a Java UUID generator. ie: generates the following code:

     new UUID(-5454673254551313331L, 673760051084779209L);

   • generate random longs. There's a current restriction where you cannot set the max to 9,223,372,036,854,775,807 and the min to -9,223,372,036,854,775,808, because it says that the range cannot be larger than 9.223372036854776E18. It would be nice to be able to generate the following:

     3358949845957188344L

   • A byte array. I know this can kind of already be done with the integer types by setting it the max & min to 127 and -128, respectively, but it'd be nice to have a dedicated option for it.
   • A template type.
     Here's how the template type would work:
     you can define a string template, and random substitution. Let's say you set the string template to:

     new UUID(%{L}, %{L});

     and you were to have a random substitution called L defined with a max and min of Long.MAX_VALUE and Long.MIN_VALUE, respectively (you'd have config options to define them however you want though.). Then, you could recreate the UUID suggestion from earlier. It would substitute a new random number for each occurrence of the substitution. Then, you just give people the ability to define as many of these as they want, set custom icons/text/colour, and you've basically allowed them to generate any complex random structure that they could want. (You'd even be able to completely remove the "UUID" type, as it can be generated using a template & some random hex values.)
     You'd be able to name the variables anything you wanted, and they could be any of the existing types.

2. Context-aware randomness.
   Basically, it would insert a new variable (and ask you to name it) if your cursor isn't already at a variable assignment.
   So, if you had your cursor where then █ character is:

   int i = █

   then it would generate this:

   int i = 1234;

   but, if you had your cursor like this:

   int i = 123;
   █

   it would generate this:

   int i = 123;
   int myInteger = 456;

   (it would ask you what you'd like to name the new integer, and in this theoretical situation, the user typed in myInteger.)

3. It would be cool if you could have a menu like this for configuring it:
   
   (This is an image of the "Run/Debug" configurations in IntelliJ with two generic "random generators", which are just unnamed gradle tasks.)
   You would then be able to

   • Set the name
   • Set the icon
   • Set the group (so they're in the "Gradle" group in this example. I'm too lazy to edit that, but by default you could have a "Random Integer" group, with "Random Integer", "Random Integer Array", "Random Repeated Integer", and "Random Repeated Integer Array" as the items in that group. Then, it would integrate nicely with your current menu system.)
   • etc.

   in the settings menu there.
   You'd be able to create as many random generators as you wanted, and put them in whatever groups you wanted. You can then rearrange the groups with the up/down keys or by dragging them. This would integrate perfectly with the other addition I proposed of "templates". It would essentially allow people to create as many new random types as they wanted, and then organize them however they please.
   But by default, you'd still have the same types you currently do set up.

4. Last thing, I promise: have a menu to select how many items you want to generate in the array, without having to go into the settings menu to change it. So if you want to generate an array of some type, it'll open up a popup that asks you how large you want they array (or a random length), and then it generates that.

[fwdekker]

Thank you so much for the suggestions, @solonovamax! You have quite a few suggestions, so let me respond to them in a structured way.

New issues

I've created the following issues that you can track for progress (I also mentioned you in them, sorry if you received spam because of that):

• Support larger ranges for longs #367 , for increasing the allowed size of longs.
• Add integer byte preset #368 , to add a preset for bytes. I don't think it's worth the effort to create a separate type for bytes, but either way, with a template system users can do whatever they want.
• Context-aware insertion #369, for context-aware insertion.

Array size

I also had a question about your last suggestion. Currently, you can quickly change array settings by opening the Randomness prompt (Alt + R) and then pressing 6 or Ctrl + Shift + Enter or Ctrl + Shift + 1 (or any other number in the range 1 to 6). Do these shortcuts solve the issue for your problem, or do you think a separate popup would still be better?

Templates

Your template suggestion looks similar to #365, which is the template syntax I've tentatively called "unified data syntax". Together with #366, users will be able to create any data type they want. (#365 is the underlying template system, which is exposed to the user in #366.)

Your idea for a configuration menu looks similar to #363, which allows users to choose which data types appear in the insertion prompt.

Even though they're similar, you may have some additional ideas relating to these issues that I've overlooked. If you have suggestions, please don't hesitate to comment those on the relevant issues or right here. I like the ideas you've proposed, and I'm always looking for new inspiration to add to the plugin!