/ 
Random-Any-0.005
River stage two • 3 direct dependents • 10 total dependents
/ Random::Any

NAME

Random::Any - Try to use Data::Entropy::Algorithms::rand(), fallback on builtin rand()

VERSION

This document describes version 0.005 of Random::Any (from Perl distribution Random-Any), released on 2025-01-07.

SYNOPSIS

use Random::Any qw(rand);

say rand();

DESCRIPTION

This module provides a single export rand() that tries to use Data::Entropy::Algorithms's rand() first and, if that module is not available, warns to STDERR and falls back on the builtin rand().

Note that whenever you can you are encouraged to use rand_int() or random_int(), or rand_flt() or random_float() function instead. From Data::Entropy::Algorithm's documentation:

"This function should not be used in any new code, because the kind of output supplied by rand is hardly ever the right thing to use. The int(rand($n)) idiom to generate a random integer has non-uniform probabilities of generating each possible value, except when $n is a power of two. For floating point numbers, rand can't generate most representable numbers in its output range, and the output is biased towards zero. In new code use rand_int to generate integers and "rand_flt" to generate floating point numbers."

Also, take a look at Random::Simple instead of this module.

EXPORTS

-warn => bool

If true (the default) then emit a warning if Data::Entropy::Algorithms is not available. To disable this warning, set to false.

FUNCTIONS

rand

ENVIRONMENT

PERL_RANDOM_ANY_WARN

Bool. Can be set to provide default value for -warn.

HOMEPAGE

Please visit the project's homepage at https://metacpan.org/release/Random-Any.

SOURCE

Source repository is at https://github.com/perlancar/perl-Random-Any.

SEE ALSO

Data::Entropy::Algorithms

Random::Simple

AUTHOR

perlancar <perlancar@cpan.org>

CONTRIBUTING

To contribute, you can send patches by email/via RT, or send pull requests on GitHub.

Most of the time, you don't need to build the distribution yourself. You can simply modify the code, then test via:

% prove -l

If you want to build the distribution (e.g. to try to install it locally on your system), you can install Dist::Zilla, Dist::Zilla::PluginBundle::Author::PERLANCAR, Pod::Weaver::PluginBundle::Author::PERLANCAR, and sometimes one or two other Dist::Zilla- and/or Pod::Weaver plugins. Any additional steps required beyond that are considered a bug and can be reported to me.

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

This software is copyright (c) 2025 by perlancar <perlancar@cpan.org>.

This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as the Perl 5 programming language system itself.

BUGS

Please report any bugs or feature requests on the bugtracker website https://rt.cpan.org/Public/Dist/Display.html?Name=Random-Any

When submitting a bug or request, please include a test-file or a patch to an existing test-file that illustrates the bug or desired feature.