September 1998
Intermediate to advanced
848 pages
20h 13m
English
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A Random Number Function
Now let's look at a function that makes use of an external static variable: a random number function. The ANSI C library provides the rand() function to generate random numbers. There are a variety of algorithms for generating random numbers, and ANSI C enables implementors to choose the best algorithm for a particular machine. However, the ANSI C standard also supplies a standard, portable algorithm that produces the same random numbers on different systems. Actually, rand() is a "pseudorandom number generator," meaning that the actual sequence of numbers is predictable (computers are not known for their spontaneity), but the numbers are spread pretty uniformly over the possible range of values.
Instead of using your ...
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O’Reilly covers everything we've got, with content to help us build a world-class technology community, upgrade the capabilities and competencies of our teams, and improve overall team performance as well as their engagement.Julian F.
I wanted to learn C and C++, but it didn't click for me until I picked up an O'Reilly book. When I went on the O’Reilly platform, I was astonished to find all the books there, plus live events and sandboxes so you could play around with the technology.Addison B.
I’ve been on the O’Reilly platform for more than eight years. I use a couple of learning platforms, but I'm on O'Reilly more than anybody else. When you're there, you start learning. I'm never disappointed.Amir M.
I'm always learning. So when I got on to O'Reilly, I was like a kid in a candy store. There are playlists. There are answers. There's on-demand training. It's worth its weight in gold, in terms of what it allows me to do.