This is the mail archive of the
libc-hacker@sourceware.cygnus.com
mailing list for the glibc project.
Re: draft random-number-generator API
- To: Zack Weinberg <zack@rabi.phys.columbia.edu>
- Subject: Re: draft random-number-generator API
- From: Ulrich Drepper <drepper@cygnus.com>
- Date: 03 Sep 1998 17:54:47 -0700
- Cc: tb@mit.edu (Thomas Bushnell, BSG), libc-hacker@cygnus.com
- References: <199809040031.UAA29079@rabi.phys.columbia.edu>
- Reply-To: drepper@cygnus.com (Ulrich Drepper)
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.
--
---------------. drepper at gnu.org ,-. 1325 Chesapeake Terrace
Ulrich Drepper \ ,-------------------' \ Sunnyvale, CA 94089 USA
Cygnus Solutions `--' drepper at cygnus.com `------------------------