util.Math.rand

Returns a positive pseudo-random number.

Syntax

util.Math.rand(
   max INTEGER )
  RETURNING result INTEGER

max is the maximum random number that can be generated.

Usage

The rand() function returns a pseudo-random integer number between zero and max.

Important:

The srand() function initializes the pseudo-random numbers generator. It must be called before subsequent calls to the rand() function. If you do not call the srand() function, the rand() function will generate the same sequence of numbers for every program execution. The numbers generated by rand() can vary according to the operating system.

The maximum random number returned by the rand() function is 2,147,483,646.

The rand() function returns zero if the argument is lower or equal to 0.

Example

IMPORT util
MAIN
    DEFINE i SMALLINT
    DISPLAY "Before srand() call:"
    FOR i=1 TO 3
        DISPLAY util.Math.rand(100)
    END FOR
    CALL util.Math.srand()
    DISPLAY "After srand() call:"
    FOR i=1 TO 3
        DISPLAY util.Math.rand(100)
    END FOR
END MAIN

(run this example several times)