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From: Robert A Duff <bobduff@shell01.TheWorld.com>
Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada
Subject: Re: How do I write directly to a memory address?
Date: Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:59:35 -0500
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Date: 2011-02-09T18:59:35-05:00
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Hyman Rosen <hyrosen@mail.com> writes:

> On 2/9/2011 4:23 PM, Shark8 wrote:
>> Almost: prove it returns.
>
> Sure. The function "random()" uses the h'Thunk pseudo-random
> number subscription service. The manufacturer guarantees that
> the stream of numbers returned is a permutation of the possible
> positive values of type long. The Ada version available to
> translated versions additionally guarantees to raise an exception
> if it is called again after all possible values have been returned.

;-)

Why not simplify your algorithm?  Just count through the numbers.
No need for pseudo-random numbers.

Your point is a good one, though: it illustrates the difference
between specifying what a program does, and how it does so
(the latter being, one hopes, efficient).

By the way, even if you used a "truly" random number generator,
the program will terminate in finite time with probability 1.

- Bob