#!/bin/bash
function random()
{
min=$1;
max=$2;
num=$(date +%s+10#%N);
((retnum=num%max+min));
echo $retnum;
}
string=$1
str_length=${#string}
rnd_num=$(random 1 $str_length);
let out_num=rnd_num-1
echo "The random number is [$rnd_num]. The character is '${string:$out_num:1}'"