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From: Dave Angel <davea@davea.name>
Subject: Re: card dealer
Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2013 21:00:52 +0000 (UTC)
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Xref: csiph.com comp.lang.python:54911

On 27/9/2013 12:10, Denis McMahon wrote:

> On Fri, 27 Sep 2013 12:08:33 +0000, Dave Angel wrote:
>
>> i recall
>> writing a shuffle function in C decades ago, which took an array of (52)
>> unique items and put them in random order.
>
> Whenever I tried to write shuffles I came up against a fairly fundamental 
> limit:
>
> 52! > prng states
>
> Granted prngs seem to be better on the importing entropy from elsewhere 
> front these days.
>

in 1978, I implemented a random number generator that the OS sequenced
through between scheduling processes, so that any individual process
would be relatively safe from that phenomenon. Of course I was limited
to the precision of the math package - 10**13

-- 
DaveA