[REBOL] Re: random implementation
From: chris:starforge:demon at: 8-Feb-2001 11:36
[Robbo1Mark--aol--com] wrote:
> "RANDOM" number sequence using a different algorithm
> in REBOL as a mezzainine function at least till RT
> decide to *fix* things.
RT aren't really to blame: random number generation
is an arcane art that a lot of books and courses
tend to cover badly. Very few people realise that the
algorithm suggested by ANSI is flawed simply because
it's the standard - it must be safe. They implemnt
it or a variation of it because it's easily available,
widely used and seldom criticised outside scientific
software circles.
> If anybody on this list has a good knowledge of RANDOM
> algorithms, please send them to me and I'll knock
> something up as I've had problems with this recently too.
I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but I have quite a lot
of experience in writing them. If you want a good
introduction, Numerical Recipies in C has a good
chapter on random number generation. I will probably
implement a subtractive method generator tonight
and post the code to the list anyway...
Chris
--
New sig in the works
Explorer2260 Designer and Coder
http://www.starforge.co.uk