Here's an interesting look at what's wrong with MapInfo's random number generation function. See longtime MapInfo-Ler Robert Edwards' piece, "Not-So-Random Numbers" at http://www.directionsmag.com/article.asp?ArticleID=50. It clearly shows that MapInfo's random-number generator has got some weak spots (and ESRI's too, as pointed out in another article by Bill Huber referenced here.) Just take a look at the picture of 5,000 "random" points generated by MapInfo's Rnd() function, and the problem is obvious. It's not even close to a statistical definition of random! For you mapbasic fans, he also provides source code to do a better job of generating random numbers using a "multiple recursive generator" (MRG) algorithm. - Bill Thoen ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this list, send e-mail to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and put "unsubscribe MAPINFO-L" in the message body, or contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
