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| author | Jarkko Hietaniemi <jhi@iki.fi> | 2001-09-04 12:09:43 +0000 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Jarkko Hietaniemi <jhi@iki.fi> | 2001-09-04 12:09:43 +0000 |
| commit | 3a3e71ebfede57e1ba7bc0b94773749f2b98e588 (patch) | |
| tree | 6191a713b4a465da043004d612170ced81a8ec3b /pod | |
| parent | 45bbf655cf4c44e2bcace54d7637687816f35100 (diff) | |
| download | perl-3a3e71ebfede57e1ba7bc0b94773749f2b98e588.tar.gz | |
Typo fix and slight rewording.
p4raw-id: //depot/perl@11856
Diffstat (limited to 'pod')
| -rw-r--r-- | pod/perlfunc.pod | 16 |
1 files changed, 9 insertions, 7 deletions
diff --git a/pod/perlfunc.pod b/pod/perlfunc.pod index ebac4b7f55..ed144d1b4e 100644 --- a/pod/perlfunc.pod +++ b/pod/perlfunc.pod @@ -4799,14 +4799,14 @@ Sets the random number seed for the C<rand> operator. It's usually not necessary to call C<srand> at all, because if it is not called explicitly, it is called implicitly at the first use of the -C<rand> operator. However, this was not the case in version of Perl +C<rand> operator. However, this was not the case in versions of Perl before 5.004, so if your script will run under older Perl versions, it should call C<srand>. The point of the function is to "seed" the C<rand> function so that C<rand> can produce a different sequence each time you run your program. Just do it B<once> at the top of your program, or you -I<won't> get random numbers out of C<rand>! +I<won't> get random numbers out of C<rand>. If EXPR is omitted, uses a semi-random value supplied by the kernel (if it supports the F</dev/urandom> device) or based on the current @@ -4823,8 +4823,8 @@ Calling C<srand> multiple times is highly suspect. =item * -Do B<not> call srand() (i.e. without an argument) more than once in a -script. The internal state of the random number generator should +Do B<not> call srand() (i.e. without an argument) more than once in +a script. The internal state of the random number generator should contain more entropy than can be provided by any seed, so calling srand() again actually I<loses> randomness. And you shouldn't use srand() at all unless you need backward compatibility with Perls older @@ -4833,9 +4833,11 @@ than 5.004. =item * Do B<not> call srand($seed) (i.e. with an argument) multiple times in -a script I<unless> you know exactly what you're doing and why you're -doing it. Usually this requires intimate knowledge of the -implementation of srand() and rand() on your platform. +a script for any other purpose than calling it with the I<same> +argument to produce the I<same> sequence out of rand() I<unless> you +know exactly what you're doing and why you're doing it. Usually doing +anything else than reusing the same seed requires intimate knowledge of +the implementation of srand() and rand() on your platform. =back |