Tag Archives: random-numbers

How Computers make Random Numbers

Came across an easy-to-follow article on how random number generators, or LCGs, work.

One thing we haven’t addressed yet, is the issue of deciding the initial seed. We could fix it to some constant number. This is useful in cases where you need random numbers, but they have to be the same every time the program is executed — generating the same map every game for example.

Another way to decide the seed is to fetch it from a source that is different each time the program is executed — like the system time. This useful in a case where a general random number is needed, like a program to simulate a dice roll.