RE: Random Number in PRG: example

[Buck Calabro <Buck.Calabro@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Eric DeLong wrote:

>It's sort of a feedback loop, and all it takes 
>is one recurrence of the seed to stick 
>you in a loop.

That's why the mathematical folks generally refer to this as "pseudorandom."
Anyway, for a unique seed, try UUID.  As for a practical use for random
numbers, my last use was to choose employees for random drug testing.  The
lawyers required a provably mathematically sound algorithm, and RPG IV did
not yet exist.  I got my algorithm from the August 1991 issue of Tech
Specialist, who adapted it from the October 1988 issue of Communications of
the ACM.  It may not be the best, but it has a good provenance.

Buck Calabro
Commsoft; Albany, NY
"Nothing is so firmly believed as
 that which we least know" -- Michel Montaigne
Visit the Midrange archives at http://www.midrange.com
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