Abstract
Undocumented characteristics of the pseudorandom number generators in Applesoft BASIC and Apple Pascal are described that cause identical sequences to be generated on different executions of programs written in those languages. Although it is relatively easy for this problem to escape notice, in both cases the problem is easily corrected once its existence is known.
References
Apple Computer, Inc. (1980).Apple II Apple Pascal language reference manual. Cupertino, CA: Author.
Apple Computer, Inc. (1981).Applesoft II BASIC programming reference manual. Cupertino, CA: Author.
Modianos, D. T., Scott, R. C., &Cornwell, L. W. (1987). Testing intrinsic random-number generators.Byte,12, 175–178.
Wichmann, B., &Hill, D. (1987). Building a random-number generator.Byte,12, 127–128.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Preparation of this paper was supported by grants BNS-7919801 from the National Science Foundation and SO6RR08038 from the National Institute of Mental Health/MBRS.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aldridge, J.W. Cautions regarding random number generation on the Apple II. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers 19, 397–399 (1987). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202585
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03202585
Keywords
- Pseudorandom Number
- Pseudorandom Number Generator
- ApPLE Computer
- Positive Argument
- Negative Argument