5.4 random -- Generate pseudo-random numbers

This module implements pseudo-random number generators for various distributions: on the real line, there are functions to compute normal or Gaussian, lognormal, negative exponential, gamma, and beta distributions. For generating distribution of angles, the circular uniform and von Mises distributions are available.

The module exports the following functions, which are exactly equivalent to those in the whrandom module: choice(), randint(), random() and uniform(). See the documentation for the whrandom module for these functions.

The following functions specific to the random module are also defined, and all return real values. Function parameters are named after the corresponding variables in the distribution's equation, as used in common mathematical practice; most of these equations can be found in any statistics text.

betavariate (alpha, beta)

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

cunifvariate (mean, arc)

Circular uniform distribution. mean is the mean angle, and arc is the range of the distribution, centered around the mean angle. Both values must be expressed in radians, and can range between 0 and pi. Returned values will range between mean - arc/2 and mean + arc/2.

expovariate (lambd)

Exponential distribution. lambd is 1.0 divided by the desired mean. (The parameter would be called ``lambda'', but that is a reserved word in Python.) Returned values will range from 0 to positive infinity.

gamma (alpha, beta)

Gamma distribution. (Not the gamma function!) Conditions on the parameters are alpha > -1 and beta > 0.

gauss (mu, sigma)

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

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 (mu, sigma)

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

vonmisesvariate (mu, kappa)

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.

paretovariate (alpha)

Pareto distribution. alpha is the shape parameter.

weibullvariate (alpha, beta)

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

See Also:

Module whrandom:

the standard Python random number generator.