Subject: Re: System clock resolution and random numbers
To: John C. Hayward <John.C.Hayward@wheaton.edu>
From: Perry E. Metzger <perry@piermont.com>
List: current-users
Date: 04/30/1997 16:22:59
"John C. Hayward" writes:
> Use random - it has a larger facility than 2^32 (from man 3 random)
> ===
>      The random() function uses a non-linear additive feedback random number
>      generator employing a default table of size 31 long integers to return
>      successive pseudo-random numbers in the range from 0 to (2**31)-1.
>      The period of this random number generator is very large, approximately
>      16*((2**31)-1).
> ===
> This should be large enough for _any_ application.

Not for cryptography. Not by a long shot.

Also, that random number generator pretty much sucks for many classes
of monte carlo simulations.

Perry