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Wikipedia:Random. On Wikipedia and other sites running on MediaWiki, Special:Random can be used to access a random article in the main namespace; this feature is useful as a tool to generate a random article. Depending on your browser, it's also possible to load a random page using a keyboard shortcut (in Firefox, Edge, and Chrome Alt-Shift + X ).
The Mersenne Twister is a general-purpose pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) developed in 1997 by Makoto Matsumoto (松本 眞) and Takuji Nishimura (西村 拓士). [ 1][ 2] Its name derives from the choice of a Mersenne prime as its period length. The Mersenne Twister was designed specifically to rectify most of the flaws found in older PRNGs.
However, generally they are considerably slower (typically by a factor 2–10) than fast, non-cryptographic random number generators. These include: Stream ciphers. Popular choices are Salsa20 or ChaCha (often with the number of rounds reduced to 8 for speed), ISAAC, HC-128 and RC4. Block ciphers in counter mode.
A pseudorandom number generator ( PRNG ), also known as a deterministic random bit generator ( DRBG ), [ 1] is an algorithm for generating a sequence of numbers whose properties approximate the properties of sequences of random numbers. The PRNG-generated sequence is not truly random, because it is completely determined by an initial value ...
Lavarand. Lavarand, also known as the Wall of Entropy, was a hardware random number generator designed by Silicon Graphics that worked by taking pictures of the patterns made by the floating material in lava lamps, extracting random data from the pictures, and using the result to seed a pseudorandom number generator. [ 1]
Xorshift random number generators, also called shift-register generators, are a class of pseudorandom number generators that were invented by George Marsaglia. [ 1] They are a subset of linear-feedback shift registers (LFSRs) which allow a particularly efficient implementation in software without the excessive use of sparse polynomials. [ 2]
Sweepstake. In the United States, a sweepstake is a type of contest where a prize or prizes may be awarded to a winner or winners. [ 1] Sweepstakes began as a form of lottery that were tied to products sold. [ 2] In response, the FCC and FTC refined U.S. broadcasting laws (creating the anti-lottery laws). [ 3]
Random number generation is a process by which, often by means of a random number generator ( RNG ), a sequence of numbers or symbols that cannot be reasonably predicted better than by random chance is generated. This means that the particular outcome sequence will contain some patterns detectable in hindsight but impossible to foresee.