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Re: draft random-number-generator API


Zack Weinberg <zack@rabi.phys.columbia.edu> writes:

> What I think you're asking for - correct me if I'm wrong - is a function to
> 'contribute entropy' to a RNG's state.  It would be like srand() but would
> just perturb the RNG not reset it.  There's a problem, though:  I think
> unless the RNG is designed to allow this, perturbing its state may *reduce*
> its randomness.  I could be wrong, I know very little of number theory.

You cannot use a random bits source to perturb a RNG because it most
cases the results must be reproducible.

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