Re: random doesn't feel very random

[Achim Gratz]

Richard Stallman writes:
> It is a feature that, if you don't call (random t), `random' returns
> a predictable sequence.  That is good for debugging.

I recognize that, but it leads directly to the mis-use of (random t) all
over the place.  Wouldn't it be better (in the absence of any API
changes) to have an option to start Emacs with a predictable seed for
debugging and have it use a random seed otherwise?

> Perhaps we should create a different interface for that feature
> and make the default truly random.

Yes.  Again, if applications within Emacs care about that sort of thing
it would really be necessary for them to be able to use their own PRNG
state rather than Emacs' global one, which isn't possible with the
current API.


Regards,
Achim.
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