
#Generation zero map size comparison generator
This function call is seeding the underlying random number generator used by Python’s random module. You’ve probably seen ed(999), ed(1234), or the like, in Python. Warning: The pseudo-random generators of this module should not be used for security purposes. Here’s a particularly notable snippet from the random module’s documentation that you don’t want to miss: You’ve likely been told to “read the docs!” at some point. They start with a random number, known as the seed, and then use an algorithm to generate a pseudo-random sequence of bits based on it.
#Generation zero map size comparison software
PRNGs, usually done with software rather than hardware, work slightly differently. (Or, you can have the dice-o-matic do this for you.) TRNGs are out of the scope of this article but worth a mention nonetheless for comparison’s sake. Rolling a die is a crude form of using hardware to generate a number that is not deterministic whatsoever.

One example is to repeatedly pick up a die off the floor, toss it in the air, and let it land how it may.Īssuming that your toss is unbiased, you have truly no idea what number the die will land on.

“True” random numbers can be generated by, you guessed it, a true random number generator (TRNG). Rather, it is pseudorandom: generated with a pseudorandom number generator (PRNG), which is essentially any algorithm for generating seemingly random but still reproducible data. Most random data generated with Python is not fully random in the scientific sense of the word. How Random Is Random?įirst, a prominent disclaimer is necessary. You’ll get into just as much math as needed, and no more. I promise that this tutorial will not be a lesson in mathematics or cryptography, which I wouldn’t be well equipped to lecture on in the first place. Here, you’ll cover a handful of different options for generating random data in Python, and then build up to a comparison of each in terms of its level of security, versatility, purpose, and speed. Whenever you’re generating random data, strings, or numbers in Python, it’s a good idea to have at least a rough idea of how that data was generated. How random is random? This is a weird question to ask, but it is one of paramount importance in cases where information security is concerned. Watch it together with the written tutorial to deepen your understanding: Generating Random Data in Python Watch Now This tutorial has a related video course created by the Real Python team.
