Generates uniformly distributed pseudorandom-number sequences.
Returns 48-bit nonnegative, double-precision, floating-point
values.
Format
#include <stdlib.h>
double erand48 (unsigned short int xsubi[3]);
1 – Argument
xsubi
An array of three short ints, which form a 48-bit integer when
concatenated together.
2 – Description
The erand48 function generates pseudorandom numbers using the
linear congruential algorithm and 48-bit integer arithmetic.
It returns nonnegative, double-precision, floating-point values
uniformly distributed over the range of y values, such that 0.0
<= y < 1.0.
The erand48 function works by generating a sequence of 48-bit
integer values, Xi, according to the linear congruential formula:
Xn+1 = (aXn+c)mod m n >= 0
The argument m equals 248, so 48-bit integer arithmetic is
performed. Unless you invoke the lcong48 function, the multiplier
value a and the addend value c are:
a = 5DEECE66D16 = 2736731631558
c = B16 = 138
The erand48 function requires that the calling program pass an
array as the xsubi argument. For the first call, the array must
be initialized to the value of the pseudorandom-number sequence.
Unlike the drand48 function, it is not necessary to call an
initialization function prior to the first call.
By using different arguments, the erand48 function allows
separate modules of a large program to generate several
independent sequences of pseudorandom numbers; for example, the
sequence of numbers that one module generates does not depend
upon how many times the function is called by other modules.
3 – Return Value
n A nonnegative, double-precision, floating-
point value.