Instantiating at random based on word - c++

Question

I have a word = "CAT"
I have 26 alphabet prefabs A - Z - prefab array
I want to instantiate 6 prefabs from the prefab at random
so B,L,T,C,A,T - in any random order
but I need it to include the letters that makeup the word cat
My first thought was to use a dictionary/hashmap to map the word cat to the position in the array i.e C = [2] A = [0] T[]
but the hashmap/dictionary only takes a key value pair but I am providing it with more than one value the 3 letters needed
This is being programmed in unity so my prefabs are already in the letters array its just getting them to include my spelling.
public GameObject[] letters;
void Start() {
int x;
/* for loop execution */
for (x = 0; x < 5; x = x + 1)
{
CreateCubes();
}
}
public void CreateCubes()
{
GameObject obj = Instantiate(letters[Random.Range(0, 26)]);
obj.transform.position = new Vector3(
);

Answer 1

Assuming you have all prefabs in a GameObject[] array you could use this to auto-populate a dictionary
public GameObject[] prefabs = new GameObject[26];
private Dictionary<char, GameObject> CharToPrefab = new Dictionary<char, GameObject>(26);
private void Start()
{
for (var i = 0; i < 27; i++)
{
// add 0 to 26 to the start character A
// results in A-Z
CharToPrefab[(char)('A' + i)] = prefabs[i];
}
}
Than you can access a certain prefab by calling
CharToPrefab[character];
For generating the instances (simplest version without taking any doubles into account) you could do e.g.
public void RandomLetters(string word)
{
// 1. spawn the minimum required letters to build the word
foreach (var letter in word)
{
var obj = Instantiate(CharToPrefab[letter]);
// maybe use obj for something e.g. shuffel all instantiated objects positions
}
// 2. fill the rest with random letters
// assuming always same amount as word letters
var rand = new System.Random();
foreach (var letter in word)
{
// pics a number from 0 to 26
// and adds it to the char -> results in A-Z
var randomChar = (char)('A' + rand.Next(0, 27));
var obj = Instantiate(CharToPrefab[randomChar]);
// maybe use obj for something e.g. shuffel all instantiated objects positions
}
}