[A89] Re: really random numbers


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[A89] Re: really random numbers




You are right in that every computer random number generator is really 
only pseudo random.

If you want a truly random number you cannot look to anything the calc 
can do in and of itself.  As Olle suggests you can increment a timer 
very quickly while waiting for a keypress.  Upon keypress the number 
will be reasonably random.  You'll find that most memory and even the 
stack are sources of non-random information.

-Adam

the_juggernaut@juno.com wrote:

> OK, I want a really random number.  I know that most random number
> generators just generate erratic but completely deterministic sequences
> for a given initial value (the seed).  So I thought about maybe making
> the seed random, like setting it to a part of memory that changes often. 
> I figured that the video memory (i.e. the home screen before it's
> cleared) would probably be a good choice.  Is there a possibly better
> choice like the stack?  I plan to set the seed before anything else in
> the program.
> 
> Jon K.
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