NAME
    Math::Random::OO - Consistent object-oriented interface for generating
    random numbers

SYNOPSIS
      # Using factory functions
      use Math::Random::OO qw( Uniform UniformInt );
      push @prngs, Uniform(), UniformInt(1,6);
     
  # Explicit creation of subclasses
      use Math::Random::OO::Normal;
      push @prngs, Math::Random::OO::Normal->new(0,2);
     
  $_->seed(23) for (@prngs);
      print( $_->next(), "\n") for (@prngs);

DESCRIPTION
    CPAN contains many modules for generating random numbers in various ways
    and from various probability distributions using pseudo-random number
    generation algorithms or other entropy sources. (The "SEE ALSO" section
    has some examples.) Unfortunately, no standard interface exists across
    these modules. This module defines an abstract interface for random
    number generation. Subclasses of this model will implement specific
    types of random number generators or will wrap existing random number
    generators.

    This consistency will come at the cost of some efficiency, but will
    enable generic routines to be written that can manipulate any provided
    random number generator that adheres to the interface. E.g., a
    stochastic simulation could take a number of user-supplied parameters,
    each of which is a Math::Random::OO subclass object and which represent
    a stochastic variable with a particular probability distribution.

USAGE
  Factory Functions
     use Math::Random::OO qw( Uniform UniformInt Normal Bootstrap );
     $uniform = Uniform(-1,1);
     $uni_int = UniformInt(1,6);
     $normal  = Normal(1,1);
     $boot    = Bootstrap( 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5 );

    In addition to defining the abstract interface for subclasses, this
    module imports subclasses and exports factory functions upon request to
    simplify creating many random number generators at once without typing
    "Math::Random::OO::Subclass->new()" each time. The factory function
    names are the same as the suffix of the subclass following
    "Math::Random::OO". When called, they pass their arguments directly to
    the "new" constructor method of the corresponding subclass and return a
    new object of the subclass type. Supported functions and their
    subclasses include:

    *   "Uniform" -- Math::Random::OO::Uniform (uniform distribution over a
        range)

    *   "UniformInt" -- Math::Random::OO::UniformInt (uniform distribution
        of integers over a range)

    *   "Normal" -- Math::Random::OO::Normal (normal distribution with
        specified mean and standard deviation)

    *   "Bootstrap" -- Math::Random::OO::Bootstrap (bootstrap resampling
        from a non-parameteric distribution)

INTERFACE
    All Math::Random::OO subclasses must follow a standard interface. They
    must provide a "new" method, a "seed" method, and a "next" method.
    Specific details are left to each interface.

  "new"
    This is the standard constructor. Each subclass will define parameters
    specific to the subclass.

  "seed"
     $prng->seed( @seeds );

    This method takes seed (or list of seeds) and uses it to set the initial
    state of the random number generator. As some subclasses may optionally
    use/require a list of seeds, the interface mandates that a list must be
    acceptable. Generators requiring a single seed must use the first value
    in the list.

    As seeds may be passed to the built-in "srand()" function, they may be
    truncated as integers, so 0.12 and 0.34 would be the same seed.

  "next"
     $rnd = $prng->next();

    This method returns the next random number from the random number
    generator. It does not take (and must not use) any parameters.

BUGS
    Please report bugs using the CPAN Request Tracker at
    http://rt.cpan.org/NoAuth/Bugs.html?Dist=Math-Random-OO

AUTHOR
    David A Golden <dagolden@cpan.org>

    http://dagolden.com/

COPYRIGHT
    Copyright (c) 2004, 2005 by David A. Golden

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
    under the same terms as Perl itself.

    The full text of the license can be found in the LICENSE file included
    with this module.

SEE ALSO
    This is not an exhaustive list -- search CPAN for that -- but represents
    some of the more common or established random number generators that
    I've come across.

    Math::Random -- multiple random number generators for different
    distributions (a port of the C randlib)
    Math::Rand48 -- perl bindings for the drand48 library (according to
    perl56delta, this may already be the default after perl 5.005_52 if
    available)
    Math::Random::MT -- The Mersenne Twister PRNG (good and fast)
    Math::TrulyRandom -- an interface to random numbers from interrupt
    timing discrepancies