it confirms what I tought. On the web, I have found a rng with intersting properties and period. mail me at [EMAIL PROTECTED] if you want
Yves "David Heiser" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > "CybercafeUser" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Excel's help mentions the Abramovitz (1969?) which you can also find as a > > ref in 25 years old HP calculators. > > It is not enough for most applications. The one in the addind for > > statistical analysis seems to be different but Microsoft never answered my > > questions; > > Yves > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- > ----------------------------- > Abramowitz is sort of a icon. Every time you see this platinum icon, it > refers to the classic publication of the old National Bureau of Standards in > 1963. Dover republishes it, so it is still in print. It is the gold standard > on nummerical algorithms, and all kinds of everything else. My copy is dog > chewed (one corner) and just about worn out. > > Excel used RAND as a worksheet cell function. It is a very simple one liner, > very fast, and gives in most situations an acceptable result. Microsoft gave > out the algorithm. There is a lot of RNG pedelling out there, and even more > opinions on RAND. > > The random number generator in the data analysis toolpak is different, one > that was not invented by Microsoft, and Microsoft apparently cannot divulge > it. It appears to be a simple congruential generator on a 16 bit integer. > Has a short period. In general, don't use it. Dates back to the 1980's when > anything programed for a computer was automatically accepted as being "the > cat's meow". > > David Heiser > > . . ================================================================= Instructions for joining and leaving this list, remarks about the problem of INAPPROPRIATE MESSAGES, and archives are available at: . http://jse.stat.ncsu.edu/ . =================================================================
