> > Both function families are the same in syntax & returning, only the
> > algorithm is different. I.e.: the semantics is the same. The algorithm -
if
> > correct - shouldn't bother, and shouldn't be the concern of the
programmer,
> > but rather the system maintainer (specific cases excluded, but than you
> > leave the high-level of PHP, and go to low-level implementation
issues.).
>
> But they are different in that each will produce a deterministic sequence
> based on their seeds. If I, as an application developer, distributes a
> regression test harness which tests my app with a specific seed expecting
> a specific sequence and the server my app runs on has switched rand() to
> use the mt_rand() algorithm my regression test will fail.
True... though IMHO a regression test is not strictly using PHP in a
high-level way, but goes into internal behaviour of it. In the
documentation, rand() is defined to "return a pseudo-random value between 0
and RAND_MAX". It states nothing about that the same seed yields the same
sequence.
True, this is the case in (almost) any pseudo-random-generator. But relying
on that behaviour is IMO using low-level implementation knowledge.
Of course, it is not forbidden to use that knowledge, but if you do, I
believe that it is your own responsibility to keep an eye on the changelog
when upgrading. And with a rand_generator = system setting, you actually
have a guarantee that the system's rand is used, with all it's properties.
I'm not denying that this change could break a script (though IMO it would
be rare). A solution would be to have it defaulted to 'system', and let the
mt_* functions always use mt, regardless of the ini-setting. By default, no
result will be different then, while still rand()'s behaviour is determined
by an ini-setting. In the end, it'd be best (IMO) to switch the default to
mt, and that change - though with less impact - has technically the same
consequences as turning register_globals off by default.
> This is somewhat like saying that we should make crypt() just be an alias
> for md5() since md5() is a better algorithm. The fact that it is better
> is rather irrelevant since the output of the algorithm itself is sometimes
> important. Many times you can swap crypt() for md5(), but many times you
> can't. Same goes for rand() and mt_rand().
'somewhat like', indeed, since crypt is defined to use DES, and is targetted
at being the same on the same input. This definitely not the case with
rand(), it is a regretful consequence of the way computers work why it
sometimes can be predicted.
> -Rasmus
>
Jeroen
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