× The internal search function is temporarily non-functional. The current search engine is no longer viable and we are researching alternatives.
As a stop gap measure, we are using Google's custom search engine service.
If you know of an easy to use, open source, search engine ... please contact support@midrange.com.


  • Subject: RE: Random Number Generator
  • From: "Fisher, Don" <DRF@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 8 Aug 2001 14:07:43 -0400

Okay, people, let's see what Webster's has to say.

1 a : lacking a definite plan, purpose, or pattern 
   b : made, done, or  chosen at random <read random passages from the book>
2 a : relating to, having, or being elements or events with definite
         probability of occurrence <random processes> b : being or relating
to
         a set or to an element of a set each of whose elements has equal
         probability of occurrence <a random sample>; also : characterized
by
         procedures designed to obtain such sets or elements <random
         sampling>

Note the absence of any guarantee noone else can produce the same result.

For security, I agree with you Leif.  Noone should be able to generate the
number simply by trying various combinations from a list.  However, that one
is able to do so is irrelevant as to whether the number is random.  

In the final analysis, the list of possible values is always known.  There
are only so many characters in the alphabet and so many numbers, right?

Donald R. Fisher, III
Project Manager
Heilig-Meyers Furniture Company
(804) 784-7500 ext. 2124
Don.Fisher@HeiligMeyers.com

<clip>
the lotto numbers (and your 1-digit number) are not random in the sense
of being unknowable beforehand. It can generate a list of all these numbers
any time I want to. That I don't know which one will win is not important
as far as the randomness is concerned, but is, of course, of some interest
as far as the lottery is concerned.

Imagine that I need a random number to generate a secure session key.
I can generate millions of them in seconds and try them all until I find the
one that gives me access.

Flipping a (fair) coin may seem to be a random process, but the binary
sequence HTH (head, tail, head) hardly qualifies as a random number.
Now flip the coin 100 times and you have a good (and long) random number.
Nobody else can produce the same number.
<clip>
+---
| This is the Midrange System Mailing List!
| To submit a new message, send your mail to MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com.
| To subscribe to this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-SUB@midrange.com.
| To unsubscribe from this list send email to MIDRANGE-L-UNSUB@midrange.com.
| Questions should be directed to the list owner/operator: david@midrange.com
+---

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

This thread ...


Follow On AppleNews
Return to Archive home page | Return to MIDRANGE.COM home page

This mailing list archive is Copyright 1997-2024 by midrange.com and David Gibbs as a compilation work. Use of the archive is restricted to research of a business or technical nature. Any other uses are prohibited. Full details are available on our policy page. If you have questions about this, please contact [javascript protected email address].

Operating expenses for this site are earned using the Amazon Associate program and Google Adsense.