Dynamic Creation of a Variable Name in Harlowe?

DMacasaurus

I'm creating Roman names at random as needed to create characters in my experimental interactive historical text Path of Honors (philome.la/gamingthepast
For reasons that I've sort of forgotten, I have five arrays each of 10 strings that are plebeian family names called $plebNomen1, $plebNomen2, $plebNomen3, $plebNomen4, and $plebNomen5.

Is there a way in Harlow to randomly choose one of these lists to draw from using dynamic naming instead of using a cumbersome set of conditionals? So is something like this possible:

1. Create a random number from 1 to 5 and store it in an variable, call it $index for sake of argument
2. Concatenate the "$" + "plebNomen" + $index and use the whole thing as the variable name "$plebNomen1" , $plebNomen2" and so on?

I should add that what I need at the moment is to generate syntax like this (if it can be done):
$plebNomenList1's $index
So I can pick a random element within one of the $pleNomen list arrays

Thanks!!!

greyelf

You could dynamically create a String value containing the variable name, the post-fix number and the 's ($index) element reference, and then use a (print:) macro to dynamically convert that String value into actual code but I believe there is a better way.

Convert your five $plebNomenX variables into a hierarchical array which is a parent outer array that contains inner child arrays.

In your case you could have a five element $plebNomen outer array, and each of those elements would be the contents of your five $plebNomenX arrays.

(set: $plebNomen to (a:
	(a: "First name in plebNomen1", "Second", "Third", "Etc.."),
	(a: "First name in plebNomen2", "Second", "Third", "Etc.."),
	(a: "First name in plebNomen3", "Second", "Third", "Etc.."),
	(a: "First name in plebNomen4", "Second", "Third", "Etc.."),
	(a: "First name in plebNomen5", "Second", "Third", "Etc..")
))

(set: $outerIndex to 2)
(set: $innerIndex to 1)

Item 2,1: (print: $plebNomen's ($outerIndex)'s ($innerIndex))