How do I randomly select an object from a table in Lua? - random

Question

I'm trying to add a function that randomly selects objects from the table targets. I read somewhere that you can use targets[math.random(#targets)], but when I do that, it doesn't just reset one of the targets regardless of resetTarget() call, and it doesn't actually make the next target random.
local targets -- an array of target objects
local bomb = display.newImage("bomb.png")
local asteroid = display.newImage("asteroid.png")
local balloon = display.newImage("balloon.png")
targets = { bomb, asteroid, balloon }
function createTarget()
for i = 1, #targets do
local t = targets[i]
t.x = WIDTH + 50 -- start slightly off screen to the right
t.y = math.random(100, HEIGHT - 100) -- at random altitude
end
end
function resetTarget(obj)
createTarget()
end
function detectHits()
-- Do hit detection for ball against each target
local HIT_SLOP = BIRD_RADIUS * 2 -- Adjust this to adjust game difficulty
for i = 1, #targets do
local t = targets[i]
if math.abs(t.x - bird.x) <= HIT_SLOP
and math.abs(t.y - bird.y) <= HIT_SLOP then
-- Hit
isBomb(t)
isAsteroid(t)
isBalloon(t)
resetTarget(t)
updateScore()
end
end
end

Answer 1

This will work but you will need a forward reference to currentTarget.
What is your function to target the random target?
local newTarget = function()
local rand = math.random(1,#targets)
currentTarget = target[rand]
doSomething()
end