This project computes pseudo-random numbers using the Linear Congruential Generator method. The parameters (See inside) are set to the Park-Miller Minimal Standard values (see Notes and Credits). Click on the green flag. The algorithm then generates a 2,147,483,647 sequence of pseudo-random numbers before the sequence repeats.
The random numbers generated in a computer or calculator are not truly random. They are not produced by sampling a physical process that contains a random process, such as flipping a coin or monitoring radioactive decay. Computer and calculator-generated random numbers are produced by computing an algorithm, in this project, the LInear Congruential Generator (LCG). An algorithm, by its very nature, contains no random processes. Still, these computer-generated random numbers pass most statistical tests and are, for most (but not all) practical purposes, random. Random numbers produced by an algorithm are more accurately called pseudo-random numbers. The most commonly used algorithm for generating psuedo-random numbers is the linear congruential generator (LCG). The defining equation for a LCG, and the variables, are shown at the top of the project screen. In 1988 Park and Miller published a set of parameters that has become widely used in software packages for generating psuedo-random numbers. Their generator is known as the minimal standard random number generator. The parameters are a = 16807, c = 0, and m = 2147483647. You can change the parameters to test other LCGs.
