| RAND(3C) | Standard C Library Functions | RAND(3C) |
rand, srand, rand_r - simple random-number generator
#include <stdlib.h> int rand(void);
void srand(unsigned int seed);
int rand_r(unsigned int *seed);
The rand() function uses a multiplicative congruential random-number generator with period 2^32 that returns successive pseudo-random numbers in the range of 0 to RAND_MAX (defined in <stdlib.h>).
The srand() function uses the argument seed as a seed for a new sequence of pseudo-random numbers to be returned by subsequent calls to rand(). If srand() is then called with the same seed value, the sequence of pseudo-random numbers will be repeated. If rand() is called before any calls to srand() have been made, the same sequence will be generated as when srand() is first called with a seed value of 1.
The rand_r() function has the same functionality as rand() except that a pointer to a seed seed must be supplied by the caller. If rand_r() is called with the same initial value for the object pointed to by seed and that object is not modified between successive calls to rand_r(), the same sequence as that produced by calls to rand() will be generated.
The rand() and srand() functions provide per-process pseudo-random streams shared by all threads. The same effect can be achieved if all threads call rand_r() with a pointer to the same seed object. The rand_r() function allows a thread to generate a private pseudo-random stream by having the seed object be private to the thread.
The spectral properties of rand() are limited. The arc4random(3C) function provides a better, more elaborate random-number generator.
When compiling multithreaded applications, the _REENTRANT flag must be defined on the compile line. This flag should be used only in multithreaded applications.
See attributes(7) for descriptions of the following attributes:
| ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
| Interface Stability | Standard |
| MT-Level | Safe |
| February 11, 2015 | OmniOS |