Haikunator

The Haikunator is a project to provide "Heroku-like memorable random names". These names usually consist of an adjective, a noun, and a random number or token. The original repository is implemented in Ruby, with ports to Go, Javascript, Python, PHP, Elixer, .NET, Java, and Dart.

We will be implementing this in Factor using the qw vocabulary that provides a simple way to make "arrays of strings" using the qw{ syntax.

First, a list of adjectives:

CONSTANT: adjectives qw{
    autumn hidden bitter misty silent empty dry dark summer icy
    delicate quiet white cool spring winter patient twilight
    dawn crimson wispy weathered blue billowing broken cold
    damp falling frosty green long late lingering bold little
    morning muddy old red rough still small sparkling throbbing
    shy wandering withered wild black young holy solitary
    fragrant aged snowy proud floral restless divine polished
    ancient purple lively nameless lucky odd tiny free dry
    yellow orange gentle tight super royal broad steep flat
    square round mute noisy hushy raspy soft shrill rapid sweet
    curly calm jolly fancy plain shinny
}

Next, a list of nouns:

CONSTANT: nouns qw{
    waterfall river breeze moon rain wind sea morning snow lake
    sunset pine shadow leaf dawn glitter forest hill cloud
    meadow sun glade bird brook butterfly bush dew dust field
    fire flower firefly feather grass haze mountain night pond
    darkness snowflake silence sound sky shape surf thunder
    violet water wildflower wave water resonance sun wood dream
    cherry tree fog frost voice paper frog smoke star atom band
    bar base block boat term credit art fashion truth disk
    math unit cell scene heart recipe union limit bread toast
    bonus lab mud mode poetry tooth hall king queen lion tiger
    penguin kiwi cake mouse rice coke hola salad hat
}

We will make a token out of digits:

CONSTANT: token-chars "0123456789"

Finally, a simple haikunate implementation:

: haikunate ( -- str )
    adjectives random
    nouns random
    4 [ token-chars random ] "" replicate-as
    "%s-%s-%s" sprintf ;

We can try it a few times, to see how it works:

IN: scratchpad haikunate .
"odd-water-8344"

IN: scratchpad haikunate .
"flat-tooth-9324"

IN: scratchpad haikunate .
"wandering-lion-8346"

IN: scratchpad haikunate .
"yellow-mud-9780"

IN: scratchpad haikunate .
"patient-unit-4203"

IN: scratchpad haikunate .
"floral-feather-1023"

Some versions of "haikunate" in other languages include features such as:

• allow customization of the delimiter (dots are popular)
• allow the token to be specified as a range of possible numbers
• allow the token to be restricted to a maximum length
• allow the token to be represented using hex digits
• allow the token to be represented with custom character sets
• etc.

This is available on my GitHub.