On Aug 9, 2017 12:01 PM, <gforth-requ...@gnu.org> wrote:
Send Gforth mailing list submissions to
gforth@gnu.org
To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
https://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/gforth
or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
gforth-requ...@gnu.org
You can reach the person managing the list at
gforth-ow...@gnu.org
When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
than "Re: Contents of Gforth digest..."
Today's Topics:
1. Re: how to build a really working random seed ? (m...@iae.nl)
2. Re: 1. (vol60, i4) Re: how to build a really working random
seed ? (Marcel) (James Gere) (James Gere)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Tue, 08 Aug 2017 21:27:31 +0200
From: m...@iae.nl
To: gforth@gnu.org
Subject: Re: [gforth] how to build a really working random seed ?
Message-ID: <206d0f5528fe4603e3ab31b014bb6...@iae.nl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed
James Gere <jjma...@gmail.com> writes Re: how to build a really working
random seed ?
> Dear Marcel,
> did you try 5 or 6?
> James Gere
No, I did not, thanks!
The generator is even more puzzling than I thought
(unless I made an conversion mistake from 32 -> 64 bits)
*********************
MARCEL!
I don't believe you have made any mistake with the random generator, so
long as there is no chance of 64 bit excess (non-zero bits) shifting into
the 32 bit values. This would only bother the right shift, but looks ok.
********************
-- see the test below.
***********************
It looks like you and your computer have been very busy. Step back for a
second.
The random generator is working corectly. It's just not the same kind of
generator you are used to. The old LCGs (linear congruential generators)
input a seed (a seperate operation), cycled the seed, and spit back the new
seed as the random result. The output was always of the same period as
the generator, one big cycle.
The rnd generator builds on that idea by incorporating another step, the
take-off function. Instead of just showing you the seed every time you
ask, the rnd generator gives you a scrambled version of it. In this case
the take-off is:
dup 13 lshift xor dup 17 rshift xor
.
The fact that the same function has dual-use just makes rnd faster and
shorter.
Imagine I have a random list of ten numbers 1 to10. If you ask me for a
new number, I'll just move to the next on the list and give that to you.
If I run out of numbers, I go back to the beginning and give you the first
number.
Now with a take-off function, my friend also has a list. When you ask for
my number, I give it to my friend. He looks at my number and gives you the
number that corresponds to my number from his list, which usually differs
from mine. This makes it harder for you to measure the period of my
generator.
That is where the problem lies. The latest xtest starts my list from a
given seed, and counts how many steps until my friend's number matches the
given. That shows only how far out of sync the two lists are for that
number. If you want to know how long the list is, one way is to ask for
rnd then count how many steps until you get the same result.
****************
To short circuit the test, enter
1073741825 xtest .
Apparently this generator has a cycle of 0 for the initial seed
1073741825.
*************
In light of the above, this just says the two lists are in sync for this
number.
I hope I have explained this clearly. I'll keep an eye out for your
questions and comments here.
Sincerely,
James Gere
********************************************************************
