NAME
Math::Random::OO - Consistent object-oriented interface for generating
random numbers
SYNOPSIS
# Using factory functions
use Math::Random::OO qw( Uniform UniformInt );
push @prngs, Uniform(), UniformInt(1,6);
# Explicit creation of subclasses
use Math::Random::OO::Normal;
push @prngs, Math::Random::OO::Normal->new(0,2);
$_->seed(23) for (@prngs);
print( $_->next(), "\n") for (@prngs);
DESCRIPTION
CPAN contains many modules for generating random numbers in various ways
and from various probability distributions using pseudo-random number
generation algorithms or other entropy sources. (The "SEE ALSO" section
has some examples.) Unfortunately, no standard interface exists across
these modules. This module defines an abstract interface for random
number generation. Subclasses of this model will implement specific
types of random number generators or will wrap existing random number
generators.
This consistency will come at the cost of some efficiency, but will
enable generic routines to be written that can manipulate any provided
random number generator that adheres to the interface. E.g., a
stochastic simulation could take a number of user-supplied parameters,
each of which is a Math::Random::OO subclass object and which represent
a stochastic variable with a particular probability distribution.
USAGE
Factory Functions
use Math::Random::OO qw( Uniform UniformInt Normal Bootstrap );
$uniform = Uniform(-1,1);
$uni_int = UniformInt(1,6);
$normal = Normal(1,1);
$boot = Bootstrap( 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5 );
In addition to defining the abstract interface for subclasses, this
module imports subclasses and exports factory functions upon request to
simplify creating many random number generators at once without typing
"Math::Random::OO::Subclass->new()" each time. The factory function
names are the same as the suffix of the subclass following
"Math::Random::OO". When called, they pass their arguments directly to
the "new" constructor method of the corresponding subclass and return a
new object of the subclass type. Supported functions and their
subclasses include:
* "Uniform" -- Math::Random::OO::Uniform (uniform distribution over a
range)
* "UniformInt" -- Math::Random::OO::UniformInt (uniform distribution
of integers over a range)
* "Normal" -- Math::Random::OO::Normal (normal distribution with
specified mean and standard deviation)
* "Bootstrap" -- Math::Random::OO::Bootstrap (bootstrap resampling
from a non-parameteric distribution)
INTERFACE
All Math::Random::OO subclasses must follow a standard interface. They
must provide a "new" method, a "seed" method, and a "next" method.
Specific details are left to each interface.
"new"
This is the standard constructor. Each subclass will define parameters
specific to the subclass.
"seed"
$prng->seed( @seeds );
This method takes seed (or list of seeds) and uses it to set the initial
state of the random number generator. As some subclasses may optionally
use/require a list of seeds, the interface mandates that a list must be
acceptable. Generators requiring a single seed must use the first value
in the list.
As seeds may be passed to the built-in "srand()" function, they may be
truncated as integers, so 0.12 and 0.34 would be the same seed.
"next"
$rnd = $prng->next();
This method returns the next random number from the random number
generator. It does not take (and must not use) any parameters.
BUGS
Please report bugs using the CPAN Request Tracker at
http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Math-Random-OO
AUTHOR
David A Golden <dagolden@cpan.org>
http://dagolden.com/
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2004, 2005 by David A. Golden
This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
under the same terms as Perl itself.
The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included
with this module.
SEE ALSO
This is not an exhaustive list -- search CPAN for that -- but represents
some of the more common or established random number generators that
I've come across.
Math::Random -- multiple random number generators for different
distributions (a port of the C randlib)
Math::Rand48 -- perl bindings for the drand48 library (according to
perl56delta, this may already be the default after perl 5.005_52 if
available)
Math::Random::MT -- The Mersenne Twister PRNG (good and fast)
Math::TrulyRandom -- an interface to random numbers from interrupt
timing discrepancies