> > This is almost the entire problem with random numbers - what is > > good enough?
I was once advised to use crypto functions to generate a "really" random number. I may be able to locate the algorithm -- I'm not sure without looking -- but it depended on having heavy-duty crypto functions available. Like one step was to generate an SHA (MD5?) hash of a block of pseudo-random data (I think). I noticed that APR has MD5 code in it, perhaps the algorithm would be doable with the current codebase. I remember it being really slow (due to the crypto functions used). Perhaps that could be offset by generating larger blocks of numbers at a go and vending them out as needed. Perhaps a thread could be dedicated to the purpose. Seems like too much work, but I thought I'd mention it. Does anyone want me to go looking for the algorithm for this discussion? I'll understand if the crypto aspect has y'all making a sign against the evil algorithm as cold chills travel up your spines. That's what it generally does to me...but I'm a programmer, not a mathematician. Marc M. Adkins
