Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!dinghy.cis.ohio-state.edu!martens
From: martens@dinghy.cis.ohio-state.edu (Jeff Martens)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Random number function wanted
Message-ID: <81057@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Date: 31 May 90 17:28:45 GMT
References: <1932@mindlink.UUCP>
Sender: news@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu
Reply-To: Jeff Martens <martens@cis.ohio-state.edu>
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.tech
Organization: Ohio State University Computer and Information Science
Lines: 15

In article <1932@mindlink.UUCP> a275@mindlink.UUCP (Travers Naran) writes:
>Does anyone have a good random number function? I used to have an old
>Transactor with a good one in it ("Starts repeatin only after a million
>cycles!") but lost the issue.

Actually, if a generator has a period of only a million, it's not good
enough for serious use.  For a good generator, and a good discussion
of pseudorandom generators in general, see Stephen K. Park and Keith
W. Miller, "Random Number Generators:  Good ones are Hard to Find,"
10/88 Communications of the ACM.
      -------------- -- --- ---
-=-
-- Jeff (martens@cis.ohio-state.edu)

Chemlawn, trademark, suburban distributor of toxic chemicals.