C++ Primer Plus

Taking the Vector Class on a Random Walk

Listing 11.15 provides a short program that uses the revised Vector class. It simulates the famous Drunkard’s Walk problem. Actually, now that drunks are recognized as people with a serious health problem rather than as a source of amusement, it’s usually called the Random Walk problem. The idea is that you place someone at a lamppost. The person begins walking, but the direction of each step varies randomly from the direction of the preceding step. One way of phrasing the problem is this: How many steps does it take the random walker to travel, say, 50 feet away from the post? In terms of vectors, this amounts to adding a bunch of randomly oriented vectors until the sum exceeds 50 feet.

Listing 11.15 ...