Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site brl-tgr.ARPA Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!GRUPP@mit-mc.ARPA From: GRUPP@mit-mc.ARPA (Paul R. Grupp) Newsgroups: net.micro.cpm Subject: Random Numbers Message-ID: <9758@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Sat, 6-Apr-85 04:03:44 EST Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.9758 Posted: Sat Apr 6 04:03:44 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 8-Apr-85 00:36:50 EST Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Lines: 18 David, The differerence between random numbers and pseudo random numbers is that while pseudo random numbers APPEAR to be random, the same sequence of numbers will be generated each time the pseudo generator is run. This is of course due to the fact that the same code is being executed each time the program is run. A way to prevent this from happining it to SEED the pseudo generator with some truly random number from outside the program i.e. a number from the system clock or the number of clock ticks from a prompt to the reaction time to type something back to the prompt. If you need something that is truly random reguardless of seed even, then you may have to resort to a hardware hack such as the input from a ADC (analog to digital converter) with it's input comming from a "white noise generator". This would be truly random (make sure that the white noise generator is an analog device and not one of the newer "digitaly derived" generators). Hope this helps. Regards, Paul Grupp