[C++] Simple function to get random numbers in modern C++

random.cpp

#include <iostream>
#include <random>

template<typename T>
T random(T min = 0, T max = std::numeric_limits<T>::max()) {
	static std::random_device randomDevice;
	static std::mt19937 mersenneTwisterEngine(randomDevice());
	std::uniform_int_distribution<T> distribution{min, max};
	return distribution(mersenneTwisterEngine);
}

int main() {
	for (int i = 0; i < 5; ++i) {
		std::cout << random<int>(-100, 100) << '\t';
	}

	for (int i = 0; i < 5; ++i) {
		std::cout << random<char>() << '\t';
	}
}

A simpler version of the random version is possible:

template<typename T>
T random(T min = 0, T max = std::numeric_limits<T>::max()) {
	std::random_device randomDevice;
	std::uniform_int_distribution<T> distribution{min, max};
	return distribution(randomDevice);
}

However, using a Mersenne Twister engine may probably result in faster code. See https://stackoverflow.com/a/38368609/12342718

See also https://stackoverflow.com/a/66495060/12342718 : std::random_device may not have entropy and then using the current time as seed is a possible alternative.