method

srand

v2_1_10 - Show latest stable - 0 notes - Class: Kernel

srand(p1 = v1) public

Seeds the system pseudo-random number generator, Random::DEFAULT, with number. The previous seed value is returned.

If number is omitted, seeds the generator using a source of entropy provided by the operating system, if available (/dev/urandom on Unix systems or the RSA cryptographic provider on Windows), which is then combined with the time, the process id, and a sequence number.

srand may be used to ensure repeatable sequences of pseudo-random numbers between different runs of the program. By setting the seed to a known value, programs can be made deterministic during testing.

srand 1234               # => 268519324636777531569100071560086917274
[ rand, rand ]           # => [0.1915194503788923, 0.6221087710398319]
[ rand(10), rand(1000) ] # => [4, 664]
srand 1234               # => 1234
[ rand, rand ]           # => [0.1915194503788923, 0.6221087710398319]

Show source

static VALUE
rb_f_srand(int argc, VALUE *argv, VALUE obj)
{
    VALUE seed, old;
    rb_random_t *r = &default_rand;

    if (argc == 0) {
        seed = random_seed();
    }
    else {
        rb_scan_args(argc, argv, "01", &seed);
    }
    old = r->seed;
    r->seed = rand_init(&r->mt, seed);

    return old;
}

srand

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