> From: Reindl Harald <h.rei...@thelounge.net> > > do not use any random-functions of mysql even if they exists > http://bugs.mysql.com/bug.php?id=59253
Of course, it depends on the desired quality of randomness needed. I'm using RAND() to select random quotations to put at the end of emails. I can easily repeat the process by re-selecting the "Signature:" menu in Apple Mail. Problem is, I often notice that doing so cycles through several similar signatures in a decidedly non-random way! (You can demo this by sending email to <qu...@bytesmiths.com>, with a search term in the Subject: line.) But of course, a nuclear plant is not going to melt down because of my signature line. So RAND() can be useful, but it is not really very random, and should be used with caution. My guess is that it's using Knuth's linear congruential algorithm that has well-known problems, but that unfortunately has been hidden deep in system code libraries since "Fundamental Algorithms" was published in 1968. ---------------- World events tend to be driven by loose coalitions of economic, political, and military interests, which function like guilds of species in an ecosystem. These guilds generate patterns of events that meet the interests of these coalitions, without there being any unity of purpose or clear plan. When powerful players accept they are not all-powerful, they increase their effectiveness, but are also able to deny and cover any responsibility for the adverse outcomes of those actions. -- David Holmgren :::: Jan Steinman, EcoReality Co-op :::: -- MySQL General Mailing List For list archives: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql To unsubscribe: http://lists.mysql.com/mysql?unsub=arch...@jab.org
