Messages in this thread |  | | Date | Wed, 15 May 1996 21:10:57 -0600 (CST) | From | Aaron Ucko <> | Subject | Re: CONFIG_RANDOM option for 1.99.2 |
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> Yes, but nonsecurity-related userspace programs might also want good random > numbers. Consider a simulation using the Monte Carlo method--pseudorandom > numbers might produce misleading results. > >Someone who's running Monte Carlo simulations hopefully has a fair bit >of memory available, and knows enough about random number generators >to realize the importance of a good one. For that matter, the problem >with random numbers for Monte Carlo methods is rarely the quality of >the seed, but rather the quality of the generator (the f(x+1) term). >If the generator has poor spectral properties, it doesn't matter how >good the initial seed was. > >/dev/random generates an excellent initial random number, and perhaps >a small number more such numbers. It's not designed for generating >the millions of random numbers that a simulation may need. It is >designed for generating a small number of random numbers to serve as >cryptographic keys.
Yeah, OK, you win. I just like the idea of a /dev/random and picked an argument in its favor that had not yet been used (for good reason, it seems. Oh well.)
-- Aaron Ucko (ucko@vax1.rockhurst.edu; finger for PGP public key) | httyp! "That's right," he said. "We're philosophers. We think, therefore we am." -- Terry Pratchett, _Small Gods_ | Geek Code 3.1 [for explanation, finger hayden@mankato.msus.edu]: GCS/M/S/C d- s: a18 C++(+++)>++++ UL++>++++ P++ L++>+++++ E- W(-) N++(+) o+ K- w--- O M@ V-(--) PS++(+++) PE- Y(+) PGP(+) t(+) !5 X-- R(-) tv-@ b++(+++) DI+ !D-- G++(+++) e->+++++(*) h!>+ r-(--)>+++ y?
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