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!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!brl-tgr!tgr!cottrell@nbs-vms.ARPA From: cottrell@nbs-vms.ARPA (COTTRELL, JAMES) Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards Subject: Random Precision Message-ID: <1842@brl-tgr.ARPA> Date: Tue, 1-Oct-85 21:09:14 EDT Article-I.D.: brl-tgr.1842 Posted: Tue Oct 1 21:09:14 1985 Date-Received: Thu, 3-Oct-85 06:32:15 EDT Sender: news@brl-tgr.ARPA Lines: 22 I'll answer the easy part... > 1. What good is a random number generator when you have to generate a > random seed to begin with. For debugging. If the same series is generated each time (by the same seed) then the program will behave in exactly the same way each time it is executed. Remember the `randomize' statement in BASIC? That's what it does, sets the seed to the system clock to look more random. > Are (1), (2), and (3) wrong, am I totally out to lunch... If you are, bring me back a cheeseburger. Hold the randomness. > are there any good references??? Yes, but I'm not one of them. jim cottrell@nbs "Well you wore out your welcome with random precision" -- Pink Floyd */ ------