List Commands Library for 50g

[DavidM]

(03-18-2018 09:47 PM)pier4r Wrote:  Hmm. If you are referring to this https://groups.google.com/d/topic/comp.s...discussion discussion, I read it.

I was actually referring to this thread. But I still think RAND is OK for most purposes that people would want to use it for on a calculator. Not up to cryptographic standards, but OK for most other purposes.

The issue I'm currently facing with LSHUF is how to effectively convert the RAND seed into an appropriate integer in the range needed for LSHUF to use for a swap target. In the past, I used the <whole seed> MOD <value>, where <value> is one greater than the largest swap target range I needed. That has now been shown to be a faulty method (because it only uses the least significant digits of the seed, which is clearly ineffective). I've proposed a potential fix (XORing the upper part of the seed onto the lower part before performing the MOD), but I don't have any way to know if that method is actually any better. While it seems like it should be, guessing is not a viable option here. Unless I can somehow confirm that this method works better, there's no reason to use it. And right now I know of no realistic way to test it.

A total rewrite is a possibility, but it just doesn't seem to me that this command is worth this much effort. I'm more inclined to let people simply choose their own methods for randomizing a list, thereby taking the responsibility for managing the level of effectiveness they deem appropriate.