RANDOM

The RANDOM function produces a number that is randomly distributed between specified low and high boundaries. Randomly generated numbers are useful when building and duplicating tests of applications. They are especially useful for simulation and forecasting applications.

Tip:

To compute the number, RANDOM uses the values of the options RANDOM.SEED.1 and RANDOM.SEED.2, and then changes the values for the next time. When you create your own seeds, set both RANDOM.SEED.1 and RANDOM.SEED.2 to odd numbers. This practice enhances the randomness of the numbers that are produced.

Return Value

DECIMAL

Syntax

RANDOM([lowbound] [highbound])

Arguments

lowbound: A numeric expression that specifies the lower boundary for the random number series. The default is 0. When lowbound is NA, the RANDOM function produces NA.
highbound: A numeric expression that specifies the upper boundary for the random number series. The default is 1. When highbound is NA, the RANDOM function produces NA

Examples

Example 20-1 Producing Random Numbers

This example assigns random numbers between 100 and 200 to a variable called test, which is dimensioned by product.

test = RANDOM(100 200)
REPORT test

These statements produce a report such as the following.

PRODUCT           TEST
-------------- ----------
Tents              122.93
Canoes             176.69
Racquets           168.32
Sportswear         150.92
Footwear           187.46