Re: 100 Random Single Variable Linear Equations

On 07.12.2024 02:49, Mike Sanders wrote:

Mike Sanders <porkchop@invalid.foo> wrote:
 

[...]
SEED = SEED ? SEED : 1
[...]

 
no, no, what am i thinking, better expressed as:
 
if (!SEED) SEED = 1
 

A deliberately chosen seed of 0 gets overwritten?

How about (since you're expecting a number)

   if (SEED=="") SEED = 1

or (for good measure) the more general pattern for
an "uninitialized" variable 'var'

   if (var=="" && var==0) ...   # uninitialized
   else ...   # initialized (including "" and 0)

But is a seed of 1 "better" than a seed of 0 ?
Both create deterministic random number sequences.

Only srand() (i.e. without argument) creates a
time-depending quasi non-deterministic sequence.

My choice would probably be

   if (var=="" && var==0) srand()   # random start
   else srand(var)   # deterministic

to have both options.

Janis