[Bug manual/13595] New: missing details about how to use BSD random number function APIs

[Bug manual/13595] New: missing details about how to use BSD random number function APIs

[bruno at clisp dot org]

http://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=13595

             Bug #: 13595
           Summary: missing details about how to use BSD random number
                    function APIs
           Product: glibc
           Version: 2.14
            Status: NEW
          Severity: normal
          Priority: P2
         Component: manual
        AssignedTo: roland@gnu.org
        ReportedBy: bruno@clisp.org
    Classification: Unclassified


3 problems with the documentation, node "BSD Random",
title "BSD Random Number Functions":

1) The doc says that the prototype of the 'initstate' function is
void * initstate (unsigned int SEED, void *STATE, size_t SIZE)
But in reality, in <stdlib.h>, it is
char * initstate (unsigned int SEED, char *STATE, size_t SIZE)

2) It is unclear whether the function initstate() has to be called once
before the first call to random(). The doc should say whether it needs to
be called first or not.

3) It is unclear whether the function initstate_r() has to be called once,
to initialize a 'struct random_data', before the first call to random_r() on
this random-number generator. Also, it is unclear whether the memory area
of the 'struct random_data' has to be cleared first, using memset(), before
the first use of initstate_r() on it. Currently GNU recutils 1.5 uses the
initialization sequence

  char random_state[128];
  struct random_data random_data;

  memset (&random_data, 0, sizeof (random_data));
  initstate_r (time(NULL), (char *) &random_state, 128, &random_data);

The doc should say whether memset() is needed first, and whether initstate_r()
is needed then.

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[Bug manual/13595] missing details about how to use BSD random number function APIs

[fweimer at redhat dot com]

https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=13595

Florian Weimer <fweimer at redhat dot com> changed:

           What    |Removed                     |Added
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