Re: [RFC] RNG fixes

On 15/06/2016 13:41, Tom Worster wrote:

    int mt_rand ( $mode = MT_RAND_COMPAT )

    int mt_rand ( int $min, int $max, $mode = MT_RAND_COMPAT )

    MT_RAND_COMPAT = 1

    MT_RAND_MT19937 = 2

A PHP user needs to make the right choice of what to use in their situation. A technical description of the modes would be confusing and unhelpful to most users. I have no idea how to document this simply, honestly and accurately, and without jumping to conclusions about suitability. This is why I think a compat/correct mode switch doesn't improve PHP. It's inconsistent with the spirit set out in the preamble of "PHP RFC: Your Title Here"[1]. [1] https://wiki.php.net/rfc/template Similarly, the $mode arg allows us to add MT_RAND_XOROSHIRO128_PLUS or whatever (interesting to some of us, more "modern", perhaps arguably more "strong" or are otherwise "better") aren't improvements to PHP unless users are asking for them.

Just a thought here, if the goal is to provide a better interface, wouldn't it be better to use OO for this? Not because OO is better, but because it would avoid having problems if two mt_rand-using pieces of code are executed concurrently. Something like this: $gen1 = new SeededRandom(MT_RAND_MT19937, 23); $gen2 = new SeededRandom(MT_RAND_MT19937, 23); $gen1->rand(); // or get()? generate()? $gen1->rand(); $gen2->rand(); // returns the same as the first call as both use seed 23 With the current situation, if you add a library that relies on mt_rand you can suddenly break your ability to get consistent numbers. Cheers -- Jordi Boggiano @seldaek - http://seld.be