This generator can construct headlines and news articles by randomly composing sentences.

NonsenseGenerator.java

/*
 * Copyright (C) 2011 The Android Open Source Project
 *
 * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
 * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
 * You may obtain a copy of the License at
 *
 *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
 *
 * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
 * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
 * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
 * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
 * limitations under the License.
 */

/**
 * Generator of random news. More fun than "lorem ipsum", isn't it?
 * 
 * This generator can construct headlines and news articles by randomly
 * composing sentences. Any resemblance to actual events (or, actually, any
 * resemblance to anything that makes sense) is merely coincidental!
 */
public class NonsenseGenerator {

    private static NonsenseGenerator sInstance;

    private Random mRandom;

    private static final String[] THINGS = { "bottle", "bowl", "brick", "building", "bunny", "cake", "car", "cat", "cup",
            "desk", "dog", "duck", "elephant", "engineer", "fork", "glass", "griffon", "hat", "key", "knife", "lawyer",
            "llama", "manual", "meat", "monitor", "mouse", "tangerine", "paper", "pear", "pen", "pencil", "phone",
            "physicist", "planet", "potato", "road", "salad", "shoe", "slipper", "soup", "spoon", "star", "steak", "table",
            "terminal", "treehouse", "truck", "watermelon", "window" };

    private static final String[] ADJECTIVES = { "red", "green", "yellow", "gray", "solid", "fierce", "friendly",
            "cowardly", "convenient", "foreign", "national", "tall", "short", "metallic", "golden", "silver", "sweet",
            "nationwide", "competitive", "stable", "municipal", "famous" };

    private static final String[] VERBS_PAST = { "accused", "threatened", "warned", "spoke to", "has met with",
            "was seen in the company of", "advanced towards", "collapsed on", "signed a partnership with",
            "was converted into", "became", "was authorized to sell", "sold", "bought", "rented", "allegedly spoke to",
            "leased", "is now investing on", "is expected to buy", "is expected to sell", "was reported to have met with",
            "will work together with", "plans to cease fire against", "started a war with", "signed a truce with",
            "is now managing", "is investigating" };

    private static final String[] VERBS_PRESENT = { "accuses", "threatens", "warns", "speaks to", "meets with", "seen with",
            "advances towards", "collapses on", "signs partnership with", "converts into", "becomes",
            "is authorized to sell", "sells", "buys", "rents", "allegedly speaks to", "leases", "invests on",
            "expected to buy", "expected to sell", "reported to have met with", "works together with",
            "plans cease fire against", "starts war with", "signs truce with", "now manages" };

    public static synchronized NonsenseGenerator getInstance() {
        if (sInstance == null) {
            sInstance = new NonsenseGenerator();
        }
        return sInstance;
    }

    private NonsenseGenerator() {
        mRandom = new Random();
    }

    /** Produces something that reads like a headline. */
    public String makeHeadline() {
        return makeSentence(true);
    }

    /**
     * Produces a sentence.
     * 
     * @param isHeadline
     *            whether the sentence should look like a headline or not.
     * @return the generated sentence.
     */
    public String makeSentence(boolean isHeadline) {
        List<String> words = new ArrayList<String>();
        generateSentence(words, isHeadline);
        words.set(0, String.valueOf(Character.toUpperCase(words.get(0).charAt(0))) + words.get(0).substring(1));
        return joinWords(words);
    }

    /**
     * Produces news article text.
     * 
     * @param numSentences
     *            how many sentences the text is to contain.
     * @return the generated text.
     */
    public String makeText(int numSentences) {
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        while (numSentences-- > 0) {
            sb.append(makeSentence(false) + ".");
            if (numSentences > 0) {
                sb.append(" ");
            }
        }
        return sb.toString();
    }

    /**
     * Generates a sentence.
     * 
     * @param words
     *            the list of words to which the sentence will be appended.
     * @param isHeadline
     *            whether the sentence must look like a headline or not.
     */
    private void generateSentence(List<String> words, boolean isHeadline) {
        if (!isHeadline && mRandom.nextInt(4) == 0)
            generateTimeClause(words, isHeadline);
        generateAgent(words, isHeadline);
        generatePredicate(words, isHeadline);
    }

    private void generateTimeClause(List<String> words, boolean isHeadline) {
        if (mRandom.nextInt(2) == 0) {
            words.add(pickOneOf("today", "yesterday", "this afternoon", "this morning", "last evening"));
        } else {
            words.add(pickOneOf("this", "last"));
            words.add(pickOneOf("Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday"));
            words.add(pickOneOf("morning", "afternoon", "evening"));
        }
    }

    private void generateAgent(List<String> words, boolean isHeadline) {
        if (!isHeadline) {
            words.add(pickOneOf("a", "the"));
        }
        if (mRandom.nextInt(3) != 0) {
            words.add(pickOneOf(ADJECTIVES));
        }
        words.add(pickOneOf(THINGS));
    }

    private void generatePredicate(List<String> words, boolean isHeadline) {
        words.add(pickOneOf(isHeadline ? VERBS_PRESENT : VERBS_PAST));
        if (!isHeadline)
            words.add(pickOneOf("a", "the"));
        if (mRandom.nextInt(3) != 0) {
            words.add(pickOneOf(ADJECTIVES));
        }
        words.add(pickOneOf(THINGS));

        if (mRandom.nextInt(3) == 0) {
            words.add(isHeadline ? pickOneOf(", claims", ", says") : pickOneOf(", claimed", ", said", ", reported"));
            if (!isHeadline)
                words.add(pickOneOf("a", "the"));
            if (mRandom.nextInt(3) != 0) {
                words.add(pickOneOf(ADJECTIVES));
            }
            words.add(pickOneOf(THINGS));
        }
    }

    private String pickOneOf(String... options) {
        return options[mRandom.nextInt(options.length)];
    }

    private static String joinWords(List<String> words) {
        int i;
        if (words.size() == 0) {
            return "";
        }
        StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
        sb.append(words.get(0));
        for (i = 1; i < words.size(); i++) {
            if (!words.get(i).startsWith(",")) {
                sb.append(" ");
            }
            sb.append(words.get(i));
        }
        return sb.toString();
    }
}