C++20 for Lazy Programmers: Quick, Easy, and Fun C++ for Beginners

© Will Briggs 2021

W. BriggsC++20 for Lazy Programmershttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-6306-8_8

8. Functions, Continued

Will Briggs¹  

(1)

Lynchburg, VA, USA

 

More things about functions: random number functions, Boolean functions, parameters that change, and “scope” – that is, where a variable can be seen and used depending on where it’s declared.

Random numbers

Anyone who considers arithmetical methods of producing random numbers is, of course, in a state of sin.

—John von Neumann, inventor of FORTRAN (Goldstine, 1972)

Random numbers aren’t just useful for games. They’re useful for simulations – predicting the average behavior of some system – and for scientific computing. You can tell people that’s why you’re studying them. It isn’t for games. ...