Name

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      RANDOMNUMBERGENERATOR

Purpose

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      Allows the user to obtain a sequence of pseudo-random numbers. The
      object maintains the random number generator seed in such a way that
      subsequent calls to GetRandomNumbers will guarentee that you don't
      get the same random numbers each time you ask for random numbers.

Author

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      FANNING SOFTWARE CONSULTING
      David Fanning, Ph.D.
      1645 Sheely Drive
      Fort Collins, CO 80526 USA
      Phone: 970-221-0438
      E-mail: david@idlcoyote.com
      Coyote's Guide to IDL Programming: http://www.idlcoyote.com

Category

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      Utilities

Calling Sequence

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      Generate three random numbers.
      IDL> rng = Obj_New('RandomNumberGenerator', initialSeed)
      IDL> numberOfNumbersNeeded = 3
      IDL> randomNumbers = rng -> GetRandomNumbers(numberOfNumbersNeeded)
      IDL> Print, randomNumbers
            0.80952855 0.35878432 0.52150406
           
      Generate a sequence of 8 random digits.
      IDL> Print, rng -> GetRandomDigits(8)
            21855786
  INPUT PARAMETERS FOR INIT METHOD:
      initialSeed: The initial seed for the random number generator. If undefined
                      or absent, the number of seconds after 1 January 1970 is used.
                     

Methods

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      randomNumbers -> GetRandomNumbers(d1, d2, d3, d4 d5, d6, d7, d8)
      randomDigits = obj -> GetRandomDigits(numDigets)
      obj -> SetSeed, seed

Modification History

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      Written by David W. Fanning, 13 November 2009.
      Added GetRandomDigits method. 7 February 2010. DWF.
      Incorrect cleanup of the seed pointer fixed in the CLEANUP procedure.
          25 February 2010, DWF.