Random strings in Python 2.6 (Is this OK?)
import os
random_string = os.urandom(string_length)
and if you need url safe string :
import os
random_string = os.urandom(string_length).hex()
(note random_string length is greatest than string_length in that case)
Sometimes a uuid is short enough and if you don't like the dashes you can always.replace('-', '') them
from uuid import uuid4
random_string = str(uuid4())
If you want it a specific length without dashes
random_string_length = 16
str(uuid4()).replace('-', '')[:random_string_length]