NAME

       rand, rand_r, srand - pseudo-random number generator

SYNOPSIS

       #include <stdlib.h>

       int rand(void);

       int rand_r(unsigned *seed);
       void srand(unsigned seed);

DESCRIPTION

       The  rand()  function  shall compute a sequence of pseudo-random integers in the range [0,
       {RAND_MAX}]    with a period of at least 2**32.

       The rand() function need not be reentrant. A function that is not required to be reentrant
       is not required to be thread-safe.

       The  rand_r() function shall compute a sequence of pseudo-random integers in the range [0,
       {RAND_MAX}]. (The value of the {RAND_MAX} macro shall be at least 32767.)

       If rand_r() is called with the same initial value for the object pointed to  by  seed  and
       that  object  is  not  modified between successive returns and calls to rand_r(), the same
       sequence shall be generated.

       The srand() function uses the argument as a seed  for  a  new  sequence  of  pseudo-random
       numbers  to  be returned by subsequent calls to rand(). If srand() is then called with the
       same seed value, the sequence of pseudo-random numbers shall be  repeated.  If  rand()  is
       called  before any calls to srand() are made, the same sequence shall be generated as when
       srand() is first called with a seed value of 1.

       The  implementation  shall  behave  as  if  no  function  defined  in   this   volume   of
       IEEE Std 1003.1-2001 calls rand() or srand().

RETURN VALUE

       The rand() function shall return the next pseudo-random number in the sequence.

       The rand_r() function shall return a pseudo-random integer.

       The srand() function shall not return a value.

ERRORS

       No errors are defined.

       The following sections are informative.

EXAMPLES

   Generating a Pseudo-Random Number Sequence
       The following example demonstrates how to generate a sequence of pseudo-random numbers.

              #include <stdio.h>
              #include <stdlib.h>
              ...
                  long count, i;
                  char *keystr;
                  int elementlen, len;
                  char c;
              ...
              /* Initial random number generator. */
                  srand(1);

                  /* Create keys using only lowercase characters */
                  len = 0;
                  for (i=0; i<count; i++) {
                      while (len < elementlen) {
                          c = (char) (rand() % 128);
                          if (islower(c))
                              keystr[len++] = c;
                      }

                      keystr[len] = '\0';
                      printf("%s Element%0*ld\n", keystr, elementlen, i);
                      len = 0;
                  }

   Generating the Same Sequence on Different Machines
       The  following  code  defines  a  pair  of  functions  that  could  be  incorporated  into
       applications wishing to ensure that the same  sequence  of  numbers  is  generated  across
       different machines.

              static unsigned long next = 1;
              int myrand(void)  /* RAND_MAX assumed to be 32767. */
              {
                  next = next * 1103515245 + 12345;
                  return((unsigned)(next/65536) % 32768);
              }

              void mysrand(unsigned seed)
              {
                  next = seed;
              }

APPLICATION USAGE

       The drand48() function provides a much more elaborate random number generator.

       The  limitations  on the amount of state that can be carried between one function call and
       another mean the rand_r() function can never be implemented in a way which  satisfies  all
       of the requirements on a pseudo-random number generator. Therefore this function should be
       avoided whenever non-trivial requirements (including safety) have to be fulfilled.

RATIONALE

       The ISO C standard rand() and srand() functions allow  per-process  pseudo-random  streams
       shared  by  all  threads. Those two functions need not change, but there has to be mutual-
       exclusion that prevents interference between two threads concurrently accessing the random
       number generator.

       With  regard  to  rand(), there are two different behaviors that may be wanted in a multi-
       threaded program:

        1. A single per-process sequence of pseudo-random numbers that is shared by  all  threads
           that call rand()

        2. A different sequence of pseudo-random numbers for each thread that calls rand()

       This  is  provided by the modified thread-safe function based on whether the seed value is
       global to the entire process or local to each thread.

       This does not address the known deficiencies of the rand() function implementations, which
       have  been approached by maintaining more state. In effect, this specifies new thread-safe
       forms of a deficient function.

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

       None.

SEE ALSO

       drand48() , the Base Definitions volume of IEEE Std 1003.1-2001, <stdlib.h>

COPYRIGHT

       Portions of this text are reprinted and  reproduced  in  electronic  form  from  IEEE  Std
       1003.1,  2003  Edition,  Standard  for Information Technology -- Portable Operating System
       Interface (POSIX), The Open Group Base Specifications Issue 6, Copyright (C) 2001-2003  by
       the  Institute  of  Electrical  and  Electronics Engineers, Inc and The Open Group. In the
       event of any discrepancy between this version and the original IEEE  and  The  Open  Group
       Standard,  the  original  IEEE  and  The  Open Group Standard is the referee document. The
       original Standard can be obtained online at http://www.opengroup.org/unix/online.html .