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random

Random variable generators.

    bytes
    -----
           uniform bytes (values between 0 and 255)

    integers
    --------
           uniform within range

    sequences
    ---------
           pick random element
           pick random sample
           pick weighted random sample
           generate random permutation

    distributions on the real line:
    ------------------------------
           uniform
           triangular
           normal (Gaussian)
           lognormal
           negative exponential
           gamma
           beta
           pareto
           Weibull

    distributions on the circle (angles 0 to 2pi)
    ---------------------------------------------
           circular uniform
           von Mises

General notes on the underlying Mersenne Twister core generator:


  and is, therefore, threadsafe.


Classes

Random

Random number generator base class used by bound module functions.

    Used to instantiate instances of Random to get generators that don't
    share state.

    Class Random can also be subclassed if you want to use a different basic
    generator of your own devising: in that case, override the following
    methods:  random(), seed(), getstate(), and setstate().
    Optionally, implement a getrandbits() method so that randrange()
    can cover arbitrarily large ranges.

    
betavariate(self, alpha, beta)

  Beta distribution.

          Conditions on the parameters are alpha > 0 and beta > 0.
          Returned values range between 0 and 1.

        
choice(self, seq)

  Choose a random element from a non-empty sequence.
choices(self, population, weights=None, *, cum_weights=None, k=1)

  Return a k sized list of population elements chosen with replacement.

          If the relative weights or cumulative weights are not specified,
          the selections are made with equal probability.

        
expovariate(self, lambd)

  Exponential distribution.

          lambd is 1.0 divided by the desired mean.  It should be
          nonzero.  (The parameter would be called "lambda", but that is
          a reserved word in Python.)  Returned values range from 0 to
          positive infinity if lambd is positive, and from negative
          infinity to 0 if lambd is negative.

        
gammavariate(self, alpha, beta)

  Gamma distribution.  Not the gamma function!

          Conditions on the parameters are alpha > 0 and beta > 0.

          The probability distribution function is:

                      x ** (alpha - 1) * math.exp(-x / beta)
            pdf(x) =  --------------------------------------
                        math.gamma(alpha) * beta ** alpha

        
gauss(self, mu, sigma)

  Gaussian distribution.

          mu is the mean, and sigma is the standard deviation.  This is
          slightly faster than the normalvariate() function.

          Not thread-safe without a lock around calls.

        
getrandbits(self, k, /)

  getrandbits(k) -> x.  Generates an int with k random bits.
getstate(self)

  Return internal state; can be passed to setstate() later.
lognormvariate(self, mu, sigma)

  Log normal distribution.

          If you take the natural logarithm of this distribution, you'll get a
          normal distribution with mean mu and standard deviation sigma.
          mu can have any value, and sigma must be greater than zero.

        
normalvariate(self, mu, sigma)

  Normal distribution.

          mu is the mean, and sigma is the standard deviation.

        
paretovariate(self, alpha)

  Pareto distribution.  alpha is the shape parameter.
randbytes(self, n)

  Generate n random bytes.
randint(self, a, b)

  Return random integer in range [a, b], including both end points.
        
random(self, /)

  random() -> x in the interval [0, 1).
randrange(self, start, stop=None, step=1)

  Choose a random item from range(start, stop[, step]).

          This fixes the problem with randint() which includes the
          endpoint; in Python this is usually not what you want.

        
sample(self, population, k, *, counts=None)

  Chooses k unique random elements from a population sequence or set.

          Returns a new list containing elements from the population while
          leaving the original population unchanged.  The resulting list is
          in selection order so that all sub-slices will also be valid random
          samples.  This allows raffle winners (the sample) to be partitioned
          into grand prize and second place winners (the subslices).

          Members of the population need not be hashable or unique.  If the
          population contains repeats, then each occurrence is a possible
          selection in the sample.

          Repeated elements can be specified one at a time or with the optional
          counts parameter.  For example:

              sample(['red', 'blue'], counts=[4, 2], k=5)

          is equivalent to:

              sample(['red', 'red', 'red', 'red', 'blue', 'blue'], k=5)

          To choose a sample from a range of integers, use range() for the
          population argument.  This is especially fast and space efficient
          for sampling from a large population:

              sample(range(10000000), 60)

        
seed(self, a=None, version=2)

  Initialize internal state from a seed.

          The only supported seed types are None, int, float,
          str, bytes, and bytearray.

          None or no argument seeds from current time or from an operating
          system specific randomness source if available.

          If *a* is an int, all bits are used.

          For version 2 (the default), all of the bits are used if *a* is a str,
          bytes, or bytearray.  For version 1 (provided for reproducing random
          sequences from older versions of Python), the algorithm for str and
          bytes generates a narrower range of seeds.

        
setstate(self, state)

  Restore internal state from object returned by getstate().
shuffle(self, x, random=None)

  Shuffle list x in place, and return None.

          Optional argument random is a 0-argument function returning a
          random float in [0.0, 1.0); if it is the default None, the
          standard random.random will be used.

        
triangular(self, low=0.0, high=1.0, mode=None)

  Triangular distribution.

          Continuous distribution bounded by given lower and upper limits,
          and having a given mode value in-between.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_distribution

        
uniform(self, a, b)

  Get a random number in the range [a, b) or [a, b] depending on rounding.
vonmisesvariate(self, mu, kappa)

  Circular data distribution.

          mu is the mean angle, expressed in radians between 0 and 2*pi, and
          kappa is the concentration parameter, which must be greater than or
          equal to zero.  If kappa is equal to zero, this distribution reduces
          to a uniform random angle over the range 0 to 2*pi.

        
weibullvariate(self, alpha, beta)

  Weibull distribution.

          alpha is the scale parameter and beta is the shape parameter.

        
VERSION = 3

SystemRandom

Alternate random number generator using sources provided
    by the operating system (such as /dev/urandom on Unix or
    CryptGenRandom on Windows).

     Not available on all systems (see os.urandom() for details).

    
betavariate(self, alpha, beta)

  Beta distribution.

          Conditions on the parameters are alpha > 0 and beta > 0.
          Returned values range between 0 and 1.

        
choice(self, seq)

  Choose a random element from a non-empty sequence.
choices(self, population, weights=None, *, cum_weights=None, k=1)

  Return a k sized list of population elements chosen with replacement.

          If the relative weights or cumulative weights are not specified,
          the selections are made with equal probability.

        
expovariate(self, lambd)

  Exponential distribution.

          lambd is 1.0 divided by the desired mean.  It should be
          nonzero.  (The parameter would be called "lambda", but that is
          a reserved word in Python.)  Returned values range from 0 to
          positive infinity if lambd is positive, and from negative
          infinity to 0 if lambd is negative.

        
gammavariate(self, alpha, beta)

  Gamma distribution.  Not the gamma function!

          Conditions on the parameters are alpha > 0 and beta > 0.

          The probability distribution function is:

                      x ** (alpha - 1) * math.exp(-x / beta)
            pdf(x) =  --------------------------------------
                        math.gamma(alpha) * beta ** alpha

        
gauss(self, mu, sigma)

  Gaussian distribution.

          mu is the mean, and sigma is the standard deviation.  This is
          slightly faster than the normalvariate() function.

          Not thread-safe without a lock around calls.

        
getrandbits(self, k)

  getrandbits(k) -> x.  Generates an int with k random bits.
_notimplemented(self, *args, **kwds)

  Method should not be called for a system random number generator.
lognormvariate(self, mu, sigma)

  Log normal distribution.

          If you take the natural logarithm of this distribution, you'll get a
          normal distribution with mean mu and standard deviation sigma.
          mu can have any value, and sigma must be greater than zero.

        
normalvariate(self, mu, sigma)

  Normal distribution.

          mu is the mean, and sigma is the standard deviation.

        
paretovariate(self, alpha)

  Pareto distribution.  alpha is the shape parameter.
randbytes(self, n)

  Generate n random bytes.
randint(self, a, b)

  Return random integer in range [a, b], including both end points.
        
random(self)

  Get the next random number in the range [0.0, 1.0).
randrange(self, start, stop=None, step=1)

  Choose a random item from range(start, stop[, step]).

          This fixes the problem with randint() which includes the
          endpoint; in Python this is usually not what you want.

        
sample(self, population, k, *, counts=None)

  Chooses k unique random elements from a population sequence or set.

          Returns a new list containing elements from the population while
          leaving the original population unchanged.  The resulting list is
          in selection order so that all sub-slices will also be valid random
          samples.  This allows raffle winners (the sample) to be partitioned
          into grand prize and second place winners (the subslices).

          Members of the population need not be hashable or unique.  If the
          population contains repeats, then each occurrence is a possible
          selection in the sample.

          Repeated elements can be specified one at a time or with the optional
          counts parameter.  For example:

              sample(['red', 'blue'], counts=[4, 2], k=5)

          is equivalent to:

              sample(['red', 'red', 'red', 'red', 'blue', 'blue'], k=5)

          To choose a sample from a range of integers, use range() for the
          population argument.  This is especially fast and space efficient
          for sampling from a large population:

              sample(range(10000000), 60)

        
seed(self, *args, **kwds)

  Stub method.  Not used for a system random number generator.
_notimplemented(self, *args, **kwds)

  Method should not be called for a system random number generator.
shuffle(self, x, random=None)

  Shuffle list x in place, and return None.

          Optional argument random is a 0-argument function returning a
          random float in [0.0, 1.0); if it is the default None, the
          standard random.random will be used.

        
triangular(self, low=0.0, high=1.0, mode=None)

  Triangular distribution.

          Continuous distribution bounded by given lower and upper limits,
          and having a given mode value in-between.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_distribution

        
uniform(self, a, b)

  Get a random number in the range [a, b) or [a, b] depending on rounding.
vonmisesvariate(self, mu, kappa)

  Circular data distribution.

          mu is the mean angle, expressed in radians between 0 and 2*pi, and
          kappa is the concentration parameter, which must be greater than or
          equal to zero.  If kappa is equal to zero, this distribution reduces
          to a uniform random angle over the range 0 to 2*pi.

        
weibullvariate(self, alpha, beta)

  Weibull distribution.

          alpha is the scale parameter and beta is the shape parameter.

        
VERSION = 3

Functions

betavariate

betavariate(alpha, beta)

  Beta distribution.

          Conditions on the parameters are alpha > 0 and beta > 0.
          Returned values range between 0 and 1.

        

choice

choice(seq)

  Choose a random element from a non-empty sequence.

choices

choices(population, weights=None, *, cum_weights=None, k=1)

  Return a k sized list of population elements chosen with replacement.

          If the relative weights or cumulative weights are not specified,
          the selections are made with equal probability.

        

expovariate

expovariate(lambd)

  Exponential distribution.

          lambd is 1.0 divided by the desired mean.  It should be
          nonzero.  (The parameter would be called "lambda", but that is
          a reserved word in Python.)  Returned values range from 0 to
          positive infinity if lambd is positive, and from negative
          infinity to 0 if lambd is negative.

        

gammavariate

gammavariate(alpha, beta)

  Gamma distribution.  Not the gamma function!

          Conditions on the parameters are alpha > 0 and beta > 0.

          The probability distribution function is:

                      x ** (alpha - 1) * math.exp(-x / beta)
            pdf(x) =  --------------------------------------
                        math.gamma(alpha) * beta ** alpha

        

gauss

gauss(mu, sigma)

  Gaussian distribution.

          mu is the mean, and sigma is the standard deviation.  This is
          slightly faster than the normalvariate() function.

          Not thread-safe without a lock around calls.

        

getrandbits

getrandbits(k, /)

  getrandbits(k) -> x.  Generates an int with k random bits.

getstate

getstate()

  Return internal state; can be passed to setstate() later.

lognormvariate

lognormvariate(mu, sigma)

  Log normal distribution.

          If you take the natural logarithm of this distribution, you'll get a
          normal distribution with mean mu and standard deviation sigma.
          mu can have any value, and sigma must be greater than zero.

        

normalvariate

normalvariate(mu, sigma)

  Normal distribution.

          mu is the mean, and sigma is the standard deviation.

        

paretovariate

paretovariate(alpha)

  Pareto distribution.  alpha is the shape parameter.

randbytes

randbytes(n)

  Generate n random bytes.

randint

randint(a, b)

  Return random integer in range [a, b], including both end points.
        

random

random()

  random() -> x in the interval [0, 1).

randrange

randrange(start, stop=None, step=1)

  Choose a random item from range(start, stop[, step]).

          This fixes the problem with randint() which includes the
          endpoint; in Python this is usually not what you want.

        

sample

sample(population, k, *, counts=None)

  Chooses k unique random elements from a population sequence or set.

          Returns a new list containing elements from the population while
          leaving the original population unchanged.  The resulting list is
          in selection order so that all sub-slices will also be valid random
          samples.  This allows raffle winners (the sample) to be partitioned
          into grand prize and second place winners (the subslices).

          Members of the population need not be hashable or unique.  If the
          population contains repeats, then each occurrence is a possible
          selection in the sample.

          Repeated elements can be specified one at a time or with the optional
          counts parameter.  For example:

              sample(['red', 'blue'], counts=[4, 2], k=5)

          is equivalent to:

              sample(['red', 'red', 'red', 'red', 'blue', 'blue'], k=5)

          To choose a sample from a range of integers, use range() for the
          population argument.  This is especially fast and space efficient
          for sampling from a large population:

              sample(range(10000000), 60)

        

seed

seed(a=None, version=2)

  Initialize internal state from a seed.

          The only supported seed types are None, int, float,
          str, bytes, and bytearray.

          None or no argument seeds from current time or from an operating
          system specific randomness source if available.

          If *a* is an int, all bits are used.

          For version 2 (the default), all of the bits are used if *a* is a str,
          bytes, or bytearray.  For version 1 (provided for reproducing random
          sequences from older versions of Python), the algorithm for str and
          bytes generates a narrower range of seeds.

        

setstate

setstate(state)

  Restore internal state from object returned by getstate().

shuffle

shuffle(x, random=None)

  Shuffle list x in place, and return None.

          Optional argument random is a 0-argument function returning a
          random float in [0.0, 1.0); if it is the default None, the
          standard random.random will be used.

        

triangular

triangular(low=0.0, high=1.0, mode=None)

  Triangular distribution.

          Continuous distribution bounded by given lower and upper limits,
          and having a given mode value in-between.

          http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triangular_distribution

        

uniform

uniform(a, b)

  Get a random number in the range [a, b) or [a, b] depending on rounding.

vonmisesvariate

vonmisesvariate(mu, kappa)

  Circular data distribution.

          mu is the mean angle, expressed in radians between 0 and 2*pi, and
          kappa is the concentration parameter, which must be greater than or
          equal to zero.  If kappa is equal to zero, this distribution reduces
          to a uniform random angle over the range 0 to 2*pi.

        

weibullvariate

weibullvariate(alpha, beta)

  Weibull distribution.

          alpha is the scale parameter and beta is the shape parameter.

        

Other members

BPF = 53
LOG4 = 1.3862943611198906
NV_MAGICCONST = 1.7155277699214135
RECIP_BPF = 1.1102230246251565e-16
SG_MAGICCONST = 2.504077396776274
TWOPI = 6.283185307179586