summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/src/lib/libc/stdlib/random.3
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'src/lib/libc/stdlib/random.3')
-rw-r--r--src/lib/libc/stdlib/random.3186
1 files changed, 186 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/src/lib/libc/stdlib/random.3 b/src/lib/libc/stdlib/random.3
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..f43f06420d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/lib/libc/stdlib/random.3
@@ -0,0 +1,186 @@
1.\" Copyright (c) 1983, 1991 The Regents of the University of California.
2.\" All rights reserved.
3.\"
4.\" Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
5.\" modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions
6.\" are met:
7.\" 1. Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright
8.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
9.\" 2. Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright
10.\" notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the
11.\" documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
12.\" 3. Neither the name of the University nor the names of its contributors
13.\" may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
14.\" without specific prior written permission.
15.\"
16.\" THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS ``AS IS'' AND
17.\" ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE
18.\" IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE
19.\" ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE
20.\" FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL
21.\" DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS
22.\" OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION)
23.\" HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT
24.\" LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY
25.\" OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF
26.\" SUCH DAMAGE.
27.\"
28.\" $OpenBSD: random.3,v 1.17 2003/06/02 20:18:38 millert Exp $
29.\"
30.Dd April 19, 1991
31.Dt RANDOM 3
32.Os
33.Sh NAME
34.Nm random ,
35.Nm srandom ,
36.Nm srandomdev ,
37.Nm initstate ,
38.Nm setstate
39.Nd better random number generator; routines for changing generators
40.Sh SYNOPSIS
41.Fd #include <stdlib.h>
42.Ft long
43.Fn random void
44.Ft void
45.Fn srandom "unsigned int seed"
46.Ft void
47.Fn srandomdev void
48.Ft char *
49.Fn initstate "unsigned int seed" "char *state" "size_t n"
50.Ft char *
51.Fn setstate "const char *state"
52.Sh DESCRIPTION
53The
54.Fn random
55function uses a non-linear additive feedback random number generator employing
56a default table of size 31 long integers to return successive pseudo-random
57numbers in the range from 0 to (2**31)\-1.
58The period of this random number generator is very large, approximately
5916*((2**31)\-1).
60.Pp
61The
62.Fn random
63and
64.Fn srandom
65functions have (almost) the same calling sequence and initialization
66properties as
67.Xr rand 3 Ns / Ns Xr srand 3 .
68The difference is that
69.Xr rand
70produces a much less random sequence \(em in fact, the low dozen bits
71generated by rand go through a cyclic pattern.
72All the bits generated by
73.Fn random
74are usable.
75For example,
76.Sq Li random()&01
77will produce a random binary
78value.
79.Pp
80Like
81.Xr rand 3 ,
82.Fn random
83will by default produce a sequence of numbers that can be duplicated
84by calling
85.Fn srandom
86with
87.Ql 1
88as the seed.
89.Pp
90The
91.Fn srandomdev
92routine initializes a state array using the
93.Xr arandom 4
94random number device which returns good random numbers,
95suitable for cryptographic use.
96Note that this particular seeding procedure can generate
97states which are impossible to reproduce by calling
98.Fn srandom
99with any value, since the succeeding terms in the
100state buffer are no longer derived from the LC algorithm applied to
101a fixed seed.
102.Pp
103The
104.Fn initstate
105routine allows a state array, passed in as an argument, to be initialized
106for future use.
107The size of the state array (in bytes) is used by
108.Fn initstate
109to decide how sophisticated a random number generator it should use \(em the
110more state, the better the random numbers will be.
111(Current "optimal" values for the amount of state information are
1128, 32, 64, 128, and 256 bytes; other amounts will be rounded down to
113the nearest known amount.
114Using less than 8 bytes will cause an error.)
115The seed for the initialization (which specifies a starting point for
116the random number sequence, and provides for restarting at the same
117point) is also an argument.
118The
119.Fn initstate
120function returns a pointer to the previous state information array.
121.Pp
122Once a state has been initialized, the
123.Fn setstate
124routine provides for rapid switching between states.
125The
126.Fn setstate
127function returns a pointer to the previous state array; its
128argument state array is used for further random number generation
129until the next call to
130.Fn initstate
131or
132.Fn setstate .
133.Pp
134Once a state array has been initialized, it may be restarted at a
135different point either by calling
136.Fn initstate
137(with the desired seed, the state array, and its size) or by calling
138both
139.Fn setstate
140(with the state array) and
141.Fn srandom
142(with the desired seed).
143The advantage of calling both
144.Fn setstate
145and
146.Fn srandom
147is that the size of the state array does not have to be remembered after
148it is initialized.
149.Pp
150With 256 bytes of state information, the period of the random number
151generator is greater than 2**69
152which should be sufficient for most purposes.
153.Sh DIAGNOSTICS
154If
155.Fn initstate
156is called with less than 8 bytes of state information, or if
157.Fn setstate
158detects that the state information has been garbled, error
159messages are printed on the standard error output.
160.Sh SEE ALSO
161.Xr arc4random 3 ,
162.Xr drand48 3 ,
163.Xr rand 3 ,
164.Xr random 4
165.Sh STANDARDS
166The
167.Fn random ,
168.Fn srandom ,
169.Fn initstate ,
170and
171.Fn setstate
172functions conform to
173.St -xpg4.2 .
174.Pp
175The
176.Fn srandomdev
177function is an extension.
178.Sh HISTORY
179These
180functions appeared in
181.Bx 4.2 .
182.Sh AUTHORS
183.An Earl T. Cohen
184.Sh BUGS
185About 2/3 the speed of
186.Xr rand 3 .