Library: Sound script: randomly selects and plays a sound at random intervals

  //Script ramdomly selects a sound and plays it every 60-80 seconds
    
    list gLstSounds = ["UUID 1","UUID 2", "ETC."]; // this is a list of the sound UUID's
  
  fPlayRandom()
      {
          llTriggerSound( llList2String( llListRandomize( gLstSounds, 1 ), 0 ), 1.0);
      }// llTriggerSound call placed inside of a function which 
 //can be called by the touch even or the timer.  
 //This randomly picks one of the sounds from the list to play. 
  
  default
      {
          state_entry()
      {
          fPlayRandom(); // calls for the function to run  
          llSetTimerEvent(llFrand(60)+20); // sets time for timer() below, random time between 60-80 seconds
      }
  
      touch_start(integer total_number) // randomly will play one of those sounds each time you touch it
      {
          fPlayRandom();// calls for the function to run
      }
  
      timer() //plays as frequently as dictated by the llSetTimer call in state_entry
  
          {
              fPlayRandom();// calls for the function to run
          }
  

}

Maybe I'm missing something here but why randomize the list each time?

Wouldn't it be friendlier to leave the list itself alone and pick some random index into it?

Definitely, something like

fPlayRandom()
{
    float randomSound;
    randomSound = llFrand((float)llGetInventoryNumber(INVENTORY_SOUND)-1);
    llTriggerSound(llList2String(gLstSounds,(integer)randomSound));
}

If you have a list with 100 sounds and have to randomize it everytime you call the function you will have a lack of performance.

That or build the list in state_entry and keep a global int around for the length. Maybe with a changed event that rebuilds the list as the owner adds/removes sounds from it. That way, you wouldn't have to query the object inventory count each time either...

Or if it's a static list of UUIDs, like the OP has it, just remember that list length in state_entry.

Definitely. Randomizing a list takes time on the order of the size of the list ( O(n) ). Picking a random element only takes constant time ( O(1) ).

if it's applied to a built list of drop in sounds (unlike above) it takes less effort just to randomize the list. plus given the time between sounds, it's not really a big deal as far as execution time, but much simpler to write.