"Random" question

[Spudz777]

"Random" question

Okay, I thought I had random number generation under control, but a typo in a script threw me for a loop... What does

Utility.Random(int a, int b);

return? It's not a number between a and b, that would be:

Utility.RandomMinMax(int a, int b);

So...?

*edit*Post 100! (took me long enough)...

 

[Lysdexic]

They are the exact same, just a different way to call upon it. Using a search through the scripts would of pulled a few examples of both out and told you that. (If you have XP and "A word or phrase in a file" isn't working, open Regedit, and under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.cs\ add a new Key, name it PersistentHandler, then change the default value to {5e941d80-bf96-11cd-b579-08002b30bfeb}. Once done with that, reboot and it will search within the file now).

 

[UOT]

Utility.Random( a, b )

Returns a value between a and a+b so if you have a = 5 and b = 100, it'll return a number between 5 and 105 while the same numbers using

Utility.RandomMinMax(a,b)

Returns a number between a and b so between 5 and 100 going by the example above. So they work a bit differently.

 

[Lysdexic]

Dices.cs:

this.PublicOverheadMessage( MessageType.Regular, 0, false, string.Format( "*{0} rolls {1}, {2}*", from.Name, Utility.Random( 1, 6 ), Utility.Random( 1, 6 ) ) );

Your use of Utility.Random would mean it returns a value between 1 and (1+6).

 

[Spudz777]

UOT, you're almost right... Having played with it for a while, I believe it returns a+Utility.Random( b ), so the range of possible outcomes is the set [a,a+b-1]. So the dice script returns [1,1+6-1] = [1,6], which makes sense.

I was just getting some strange results from a script where I expected Utility.Random(5,10) to return a value between 5 and 10, but it only worked about half the time (because the other half I was getting 11-14). Try it out Lysdexic, they're not the same...

 

[UOT]

Actually taking a better look at the core

		public static int Random( int from, int count )
		{
			if ( count == 0 )
			{
				return from;
			}
			else if ( count > 0 )
			{
				return from + m_Random.Next( count );
			}
			else
			{
				return from - m_Random.Next( -count );
			}
		}

It would take 1 + (0 thru 5) because Random.Next(6) would return a number between 0 and 5.