Path: csiph.com!v102.xanadu-bbs.net!xanadu-bbs.net!feeder.erje.net!eu.feeder.erje.net!newsfeed.freenet.ag!news2.euro.net!newsgate.cistron.nl!newsgate.news.xs4all.nl!post.news.xs4all.nl!not-for-mail
Return-Path: <python-python-list@m.gmane.org>
X-Original-To: python-list@python.org
Delivered-To: python-list@mail.python.org
X-Spam-Status: OK 0.094
X-Spam-Evidence: '*H*': 0.82; '*S*': 0.00; 'received:80.91': 0.09; 'received:80.91.229': 0.09; 'received:gmane.org': 0.09; 'received:list': 0.09; 'subject:question': 0.10; '24,': 0.16; 'kern': 0.16; 'received:80.91.229.3': 0.16; 'received:plane.gmane.org': 0.16; 'underlying': 0.16; 'wrote:': 0.18; 'header:User-Agent:1': 0.23; 'interpret': 0.24; 'source': 0.25; 'somewhere': 0.26; 'header:X-Complaints-To:1': 0.27; 'header :In-Reply-To:1': 0.27; 'chris': 0.29; 'unix': 0.29; 'robert': 0.30; 'work.': 0.31; 'usually': 0.31; '(on': 0.31; 'probably': 0.32; 'fri,': 0.33; 'there': 0.35; 'subject:Simple': 0.36; 'sometimes': 0.38; 'to:addr:python-list': 0.38; 'pm,': 0.38; 'to:addr:python.org': 0.39; 'received:org': 0.40; 'referred': 0.60; 'numbers': 0.61; 'received:62': 0.63; 'such': 0.63; 'our': 0.64; 'world': 0.66; 'due': 0.66; 'believe': 0.68; 'secure': 0.71; 'actually,': 0.84; 'eco': 0.84; 'nicely.': 0.84; 'terrible': 0.84; '2013': 0.98
X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/
To: python-list@python.org
From: Robert Kern <robert.kern@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Simple algorithm question - how to reorder a sequence economically
Date: Wed, 12 Jun 2013 14:14:43 +0100
References: <a31c773f-88d8-4489-8640-12123d884e4d@m2g2000vbb.googlegroups.com> <519f4661$0$6599$c3e8da3$5496439d@news.astraweb.com> <mailman.2055.1369394778.3114.python-list@python.org> <0065152b-16ac-4ce9-8e99-3d0b8e88a31f@fv8g2000vbb.googlegroups.com> <CAPTjJmriUH_pdi6cf4gpW0R=9HyFseRUHLhGCcY=Jg73=-BGJg@mail.gmail.com>
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Gmane-NNTP-Posting-Host: 62.254.187.240
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.8; rv:17.0) Gecko/20130509 Thunderbird/17.0.6
In-Reply-To: <CAPTjJmriUH_pdi6cf4gpW0R=9HyFseRUHLhGCcY=Jg73=-BGJg@mail.gmail.com>
X-BeenThere: python-list@python.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.15
Precedence: list
List-Id: General discussion list for the Python programming language <python-list.python.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://mail.python.org/mailman/options/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/>
List-Post: <mailto:python-list@python.org>
List-Help: <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list>, <mailto:python-list-request@python.org?subject=subscribe>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.python
Message-ID: <mailman.3106.1371042900.3114.python-list@python.org>
Lines: 22
NNTP-Posting-Host: 2001:888:2000:d::a6
X-Trace: 1371042900 news.xs4all.nl 15918 [2001:888:2000:d::a6]:43438
X-Complaints-To: abuse@xs4all.nl
Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:47799

On 2013-05-24 14:43, Chris Angelico wrote:
> On Fri, May 24, 2013 at 11:23 PM, Peter Brooks
> <peter.h.m.brooks@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Actually, thinking about
>> it, there is probably a source of non-algorithmically-derived 'random'
>> numbers somewhere on the net that would do the job nicely.
>
> True entropy is usually provided by a source such as /dev/random (on
> Unix systems). It's sometimes referred to as "cryptographic"
> randomness, due to its necessity in secure encryption work. There are
> various ways to get this in a cross-platform way.

os.random() and os.urandom(), particularly.

-- 
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
  that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
  an underlying truth."
   -- Umberto Eco