public inbox for [email protected]  

help / color / mirror / Atom feed

From: Tom Lane <[email protected]>
To: Fabien COELHO <[email protected]>
Cc: Dean Rasheed <[email protected]>
Cc: =?ISO-8859-15?Q?Dagfinn_Ilmari_Manns=E5ker?= <[email protected]>
Cc: PostgreSQL Hackers <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: random() function documentation
Date: Tue, 12 Apr 2022 11:03:41 -0400
Message-ID: <[email protected]> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <alpine.DEB.2.22.394.2204120950260.1378296@pseudo>
References: <[email protected]>
	<[email protected]>
	<[email protected]>
	<[email protected]>
	<CAEZATCVOKJvvjsEhbKLjpFtbNvnGEmf51gXJbG3Y=FV_LQoPbA@mail.gmail.com>
	<alpine.DEB.2.22.394.2204120950260.1378296@pseudo>

Fabien COELHO <[email protected]> writes:
>>> How about we just say "uses a linear-feedback shift register algorithm"?

>> I think it'd be sufficient to just say that it's a deterministic
>> pseudorandom number generator. I don't see much value in documenting
>> the internal algorithm used.

> Hmmm… I'm not so sure. ISTM that people interested in using the random 
> user-facing variants (only random?) could like a pointer on the algorithm 
> to check for the expected quality of the produced pseudo-random stream?

> See attached.

I don't want to get that specific.  We were not specific before and
there has been no call for such detail in the docs.  (Unlike
closed-source software, anybody who really wants algorithmic details
can find all they want to know in the source code.)  It would just
amount to another thing to forget to update next time someone changes
the algorithm ... which is a consideration that leads me to favor
Dean's phrasing.

			regards, tom lane

view thread (5+ messages)  latest in thread

reply

Reply instructions:

You may reply publicly to this message via plain-text email
using any one of the following methods:

* Reply to all the recipients using the --to and --cc options:
  reply via email

  To: [email protected]
  Cc: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
  Subject: Re: random() function documentation
  In-Reply-To: <[email protected]>

* Save the following mbox file, import it into your mail client,
  and reply-to-all from there: mbox

This inbox is served by agora; see mirroring instructions
for how to clone and mirror all data and code used for this inbox