Difference between revisions of "cpp/numeric/random/rand"
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std::srand(std::time(nullptr)); // use current time as seed for random generator | std::srand(std::time(nullptr)); // use current time as seed for random generator | ||
int random_variable = std::rand(); | int random_variable = std::rand(); | ||
| − | std::cout << "Random value on [0 " << RAND_MAX << "]: " | + | std::cout << "Random value on [0, " << RAND_MAX << "]: " |
<< random_variable << '\n'; | << random_variable << '\n'; | ||
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|p=true | |p=true | ||
|output= | |output= | ||
| − | Random value on [0 2147483647]: 726295113 | + | Random value on [0, 2147483647]: 726295113 |
6 3 6 2 6 5 6 3 1 1 1 6 6 6 4 1 3 6 4 2 | 6 3 6 2 6 5 6 3 1 1 1 6 6 6 4 1 3 6 4 2 | ||
}} | }} | ||
Revision as of 10:00, 5 May 2023
| Defined in header <cstdlib>
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| int rand(); |
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Returns a pseudo-random integral value between 0 and RAND_MAX (0 and RAND_MAX included).
std::srand() seeds the pseudo-random number generator used by rand().
If rand() is used before any calls to std::srand(), rand() behaves as if it was seeded with std::srand(1).
Each time rand() is seeded with std::srand(), it must produce the same sequence of values on successive calls.
Other functions in the standard library may call rand. It is implementation-defined which functions do so.
It is implementation-defined whether rand() is thread-safe.
Contents |
Parameters
(none)
Return value
Pseudo-random integral value between 0 and RAND_MAX.
Notes
There are no guarantees as to the quality of the random sequence produced.
In the past, some implementations of rand() have had serious shortcomings in the randomness, distribution and period of the sequence produced (in one well-known example, the low-order bit simply alternated between 1 and 0 between calls).
rand() is not recommended for serious random-number generation needs.
It is recommended to use C++11's random number generation facilities to replace rand().(since C++11)
Example
#include <cstdlib> #include <ctime> #include <iostream> int main() { std::srand(std::time(nullptr)); // use current time as seed for random generator int random_variable = std::rand(); std::cout << "Random value on [0, " << RAND_MAX << "]: " << random_variable << '\n'; // roll 6-sided dice 20 times for (int n = 0; n != 20; ++n) { int x = 7; while (x > 6) x = 1 + std::rand() / ((RAND_MAX + 1u) / 6); // Note: 1 + rand() % 6 is biased std::cout << x << ' '; } }
Possible output:
Random value on [0, 2147483647]: 726295113 6 3 6 2 6 5 6 3 1 1 1 6 6 6 4 1 3 6 4 2
See also
| (C++11) |
produces integer values evenly distributed across a range (class template) |
| seeds pseudo-random number generator (function) | |
| maximum possible value generated by std::rand (macro constant) | |
| generates a random integer in the specified range (function template) | |
| C documentation for rand
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