NAME

       Math::Random::OO - Consistent object-oriented interface for generating random numbers

VERSION

       version 0.22

SYNOPSIS

         # Using factory functions
         use Math::Random::OO qw( Uniform UniformInt );
         push @prngs, Uniform(), UniformInt(1,6);

         # Explicit creation of subclasses
         use Math::Random::OO::Normal;
         push @prngs, Math::Random::OO::Normal->new(0,2);

         $_->seed(23) for (@prngs);
         print( $_->next(), "\n") for (@prngs);

DESCRIPTION

       CPAN contains many modules for generating random numbers in various ways and from various
       probability distributions using pseudo-random number generation algorithms or other
       entropy sources.  (The "SEE ALSO" section has some examples.)  Unfortunately, no standard
       interface exists across these modules.  This module defines an abstract interface for
       random number generation.  Subclasses of this model will implement specific types of
       random number generators or will wrap existing random number generators.

       This consistency will come at the cost of some efficiency, but will enable generic
       routines to be written that can manipulate any provided random number generator that
       adheres to the interface.  E.g., a stochastic simulation could take a number of user-
       supplied parameters, each of which is a Math::Random::OO subclass object and which
       represent a stochastic variable with a particular probability distribution.

USAGE

   Factory Functions
        use Math::Random::OO qw( Uniform UniformInt Normal Bootstrap );
        $uniform = Uniform(-1,1);
        $uni_int = UniformInt(1,6);
        $normal  = Normal(1,1);
        $boot    = Bootstrap( 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5 );

       In addition to defining the abstract interface for subclasses, this module imports
       subclasses and exports factory functions upon request to simplify creating many random
       number generators at once without typing "Math::Random::OO::Subclass->new()" each time.
       The factory function names are the same as the suffix of the subclass following
       "Math::Random::OO".  When called, they pass their arguments directly to the "new"
       constructor method of the corresponding subclass and return a new object of the subclass
       type.  Supported functions and their subclasses include:

       •   "Uniform" -- Math::Random::OO::Uniform (uniform distribution over a range)

       •   "UniformInt" -- Math::Random::OO::UniformInt (uniform distribution of integers over a
           range)

       •   "Normal" -- Math::Random::OO::Normal (normal distribution with specified mean and
           standard deviation)

       •   "Bootstrap" -- Math::Random::OO::Bootstrap (bootstrap resampling from a non-
           parameteric distribution)

INTERFACE

       All Math::Random::OO subclasses must follow a standard interface.  They must provide a
       "new" method, a "seed" method, and a "next" method.  Specific details are left to each
       interface.

   "new"
       This is the standard constructor.  Each subclass will define parameters specific to the
       subclass.

   "seed"
        $prng->seed( @seeds );

       This method takes seed (or list of seeds) and uses it to set the initial state of the
       random number generator.  As some subclasses may optionally use/require a list of seeds,
       the interface mandates that a list must be acceptable.  Generators requiring a single seed
       must use the first value in the list.

       As seeds may be passed to the built-in "srand()" function, they may be truncated as
       integers, so 0.12 and 0.34 would be the same seed.  Only positive integers should be used.

   "next"
        $rnd = $prng->next();

       This method returns the next random number from the random number generator.  It does not
       take (and must not use) any parameters.

SEE ALSO

       This is not an exhaustive list -- search CPAN for that -- but represents some of the more
       common or established random number generators that I've come across.

       Math::Random -- multiple random number generators for different distributions (a port of
       the C randlib)
       Math::Rand48 -- perl bindings for the drand48 library (according to perl56delta, this may
       already be the default after perl 5.005_52 if available)
       Math::Random::MT -- The Mersenne Twister PRNG (good and fast)
       Math::TrulyRandom -- an interface to random numbers from interrupt timing discrepancies

SUPPORT

   Bugs / Feature Requests
       Please report any bugs or feature requests through the issue tracker at
       https://github.com/dagolden/math-random-oo/issues <https://github.com/dagolden/math-
       random-oo/issues>.  You will be notified automatically of any progress on your issue.

   Source Code
       This is open source software.  The code repository is available for public review and
       contribution under the terms of the license.

       https://github.com/dagolden/math-random-oo <https://github.com/dagolden/math-random-oo>

         git clone git://github.com/dagolden/math-random-oo.git

AUTHOR

       David Golden <dagolden@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

       This software is Copyright (c) 2013 by David Golden.

       This is free software, licensed under:

         The Apache License, Version 2.0, January 2004