35Picking a Winner

Arrays don’t have to be hard-coded. You can take user input and store it in an array and then work with it.

Create a program that picks a winner for a contest or prize drawing. Prompt for names of contestants until the user leaves the entry blank. Then randomly select a winner.

Example Output

 
Enter a name: Homer
 
Enter a name: Bart
 
Enter a name: Maggie
 
Enter a name: Lisa
 
Enter a name: Moe
 
Enter a name:
 
The winner is... Maggie.

Constraints

  • Use a loop to capture user input into an array.

  • Use a random number generator to pluck a value from the array.

  • Don’t include a blank entry in the array.

  • Some languages require that you define the length of the array ahead of time. You may need to find another data structure, like an

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