drand48(3C)

DESCRIPTION

This family of functions generates pseudo-random numbers using the well-known linear congruential algorithm and 48-bit integer arithmetic.

In the following description, the formal mathematical notation [low,high) indicates an interval including low but not including high.

drand48() and erand48() return nonnegative double-precision floating-point values uniformly distributed over the interval [0.0,1.0).

lrand48() and nrand48() return nonnegative long integers uniformly distributed over the interval [0,2^31).

mrand48() and jrand48() return signed long integers uniformly distributed over the interval [-2^31,2^31).

srand48(), seed48(), and lcong48() are initialization entry points, one of which should be invoked before either drand48(), lrand48(), or mrand48() is called. (Although it is not recommended practice, constant default initializer values are supplied automatically if drand48(), lrand48(), or mrand48() is called without a prior call to an initialization entry point.) erand48(), nrand48(), and jrand48() do not require an initialization entry point to be called first.

All the routines work by generating a sequence of 48-bit integer values, X[i], according to the linear congruential formula

The parameter m = 2^48; hence 48-bit integer arithmetic is performed.

Unless lcong48() has been invoked, the default multiplier value a and the default addend value c are given by

The value returned by any of the functions drand48(), erand48(), lrand48(), nrand48(), mrand48(), or jrand48() is computed by first generating the next 48-bit X[i] in the sequence. Then the appropriate number of bits, according to the type of data item to be returned, are copied from the high-order (leftmost) bits of X[i] and transformed into the returned value.

The functions drand48(), lrand48(), and mrand48() store the last 48-bit X[i] generated in an internal buffer; that is why they must be initialized prior to being invoked. The functions erand48(), nrand48(), and jrand48() require the calling program to provide storage for the successive X[i] values in the array specified as an argument when the functions are invoked. That is why these routines do not have to be initialized; the calling program merely has to place the desired initial value of X[i] into the array and pass it as an argument. By using different arguments, erand48(), nrand48(), and jrand48() allow separate modules of a large program to generate several independent streams of pseudo-random numbers; i.e., the sequence of numbers in each stream do not depend upon how many times the routines have been called to generate numbers for the other streams.

The initializer function srand48() sets the high-order 32 bits of X[i] to the 32 bits contained in its argument. The low-order 16 bits of X[i] are set to the arbitrary value 0x330E (base 16).

The initializer function seed48() sets the value of X[i] to the 48-bit value specified in the argument array. In addition, the previous value of X[i] is copied into a 48-bit internal buffer, used only by seed48(), and a pointer to this buffer is the value returned by seed48(). This returned pointer, which can be ignored if not needed, is useful if a program is to be restarted from a given point at some future time; use the pointer to get at and store the last X[i] value, and then use this value to reinitialize via seed48() when the program is restarted.

The initialization function lcong48() allows the user to specify the initial X[i], the multiplier value a, and the addend value c. Argument array elements param[0-2] specify X[i], param[3-5] specify the multiplier a, and param[6] specifies the 16-bit addend c. After lcong48() has been called, a subsequent call to either srand48() or seed48() restores the default multiplier and addend values for a and c, specified above.

WARNINGS

drand48_r(), erand48_r(), lrand48_r(), nrand48_r(), mrand48_r(), jrand48_r(), srand48_r(), seed48_r() and lcong48_r() are obsolescent interfaces supported only for compatibility with existing DCE applications. New multithreaded applications should use drand48(), erand48(), lrand48(), nrand48(), mrand48(), jrand48(), srand48(), seed48(), and lcong48().

SEE ALSO

rand(3C), random(3M), thread_safety(5), random(7).

STANDARDS CONFORMANCE

drand48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

erand48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

jrand48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

lcong48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

lrand48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

mrand48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

nrand48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

seed48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4

srand48(): AES, SVID2, SVID3, XPG2, XPG3, XPG4