enumerating over the alphabet from 'a' to 'zzz'

Question

I'm wondering if it is possible to enumerate over the alphabet from 'a' to 'zzz'?

For example I have a cave system that contains a maximum of 1000 caves and I would like to assign a char value to each of them.

1 = a, 2 = b, 3 = c ... 27 = aa etc

What would be the best way to go about doing this if it is possible?

Answer 1

void Main()
{
    foreach (string word in EnumerateCaveNames())
        Console.WriteLine(word);
}

IEnumerable<string> EnumerateCaveNames()
{
    for (int i = 0; i < 26 * 26 * 26; ++i)
    {
        yield return BuildCaveName(i);
    }
}

string BuildCaveName(int caveNum)
{
    string name = (GetLetterFromNumber(caveNum / (26 * 26)) + GetLetterFromNumber((caveNum / 26) % 26) + GetLetterFromNumber(caveNum % 26)).TrimStart('a');
    if (name == "")
        name = "a";
    return name;
}

string GetLetterFromNumber(int num)
{
    return "" + (char)('a' + num);
}