Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/17/84; site twitch.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!twitch!grt
From: grt@twitch.UUCP ( G.R.Tomasevich)
Newsgroups: net.unix
Subject: Precision of rand()
Message-ID: <211@twitch.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 19-Jul-85 18:02:46 EDT
Article-I.D.: twitch.211
Posted: Fri Jul 19 18:02:46 1985
Date-Received: Sat, 20-Jul-85 12:29:46 EDT
References: <1244@hound.UUCP> <11392@brl-tgr.ARPA> <2399@sun.uucp> <156@ukecc.UUCP> <157@ukecc.UUCP>
Organization: AT&T Bell Labs, Holmdel
Lines: 12

> 	It seems that I spoke too soon. Ints on our 3B20S are indeed 4 bytes
> long. rand() returns a 4 byte value BUT (this is the catch) the value is
> masked to its lower 15 bits yeilding 0 <= rand() <= 32767.
> -- 
> Edward C. Bennett

The length of the calculation has been 32 bits for a long time, even on
the PDP-11.  The static variable, randx, is a long.  See the source
routine, which is /usr/src/lib/libc/port/gen/rand.c on our machine.
-- 
	George Tomasevich, ihnp4!twitch!grt
	AT&T Bell Laboratories, Holmdel, NJ