| # Rand |
| |
| [](https://github.com/rust-random/rand/actions) |
| [](https://crates.io/crates/rand) |
| [](https://rust-random.github.io/book/) |
| [](https://rust-random.github.io/rand/rand) |
| [](https://docs.rs/rand) |
| [](https://github.com/rust-random/rand#rust-version-requirements) |
| |
| A Rust library for random number generation, featuring: |
| |
| - Easy random value generation and usage via the [`Rng`](https://docs.rs/rand/*/rand/trait.Rng.html), |
| [`SliceRandom`](https://docs.rs/rand/*/rand/seq/trait.SliceRandom.html) and |
| [`IteratorRandom`](https://docs.rs/rand/*/rand/seq/trait.IteratorRandom.html) traits |
| - Secure seeding via the [`getrandom` crate](https://crates.io/crates/getrandom) |
| and fast, convenient generation via [`thread_rng`](https://docs.rs/rand/*/rand/fn.thread_rng.html) |
| - A modular design built over [`rand_core`](https://crates.io/crates/rand_core) |
| ([see the book](https://rust-random.github.io/book/crates.html)) |
| - Fast implementations of the best-in-class [cryptographic](https://rust-random.github.io/book/guide-rngs.html#cryptographically-secure-pseudo-random-number-generators-csprngs) and |
| [non-cryptographic](https://rust-random.github.io/book/guide-rngs.html#basic-pseudo-random-number-generators-prngs) generators |
| - A flexible [`distributions`](https://docs.rs/rand/*/rand/distributions/index.html) module |
| - Samplers for a large number of random number distributions via our own |
| [`rand_distr`](https://docs.rs/rand_distr) and via |
| the [`statrs`](https://docs.rs/statrs/0.13.0/statrs/) |
| - [Portably reproducible output](https://rust-random.github.io/book/portability.html) |
| - `#[no_std]` compatibility (partial) |
| - *Many* performance optimisations |
| |
| It's also worth pointing out what `rand` *is not*: |
| |
| - Small. Most low-level crates are small, but the higher-level `rand` and |
| `rand_distr` each contain a lot of functionality. |
| - Simple (implementation). We have a strong focus on correctness, speed and flexibility, but |
| not simplicity. If you prefer a small-and-simple library, there are |
| alternatives including [fastrand](https://crates.io/crates/fastrand) |
| and [oorandom](https://crates.io/crates/oorandom). |
| - Slow. We take performance seriously, with considerations also for set-up |
| time of new distributions, commonly-used parameters, and parameters of the |
| current sampler. |
| |
| Documentation: |
| |
| - [The Rust Rand Book](https://rust-random.github.io/book) |
| - [API reference (master branch)](https://rust-random.github.io/rand) |
| - [API reference (docs.rs)](https://docs.rs/rand) |
| |
| |
| ## Usage |
| |
| Add this to your `Cargo.toml`: |
| |
| ```toml |
| [dependencies] |
| rand = "0.8.0" |
| ``` |
| |
| To get started using Rand, see [The Book](https://rust-random.github.io/book). |
| |
| |
| ## Versions |
| |
| Rand is *mature* (suitable for general usage, with infrequent breaking releases |
| which minimise breakage) but not yet at 1.0. We maintain compatibility with |
| pinned versions of the Rust compiler (see below). |
| |
| Current Rand versions are: |
| |
| - Version 0.7 was released in June 2019, moving most non-uniform distributions |
| to an external crate, moving `from_entropy` to `SeedableRng`, and many small |
| changes and fixes. |
| - Version 0.8 was released in December 2020 with many small changes. |
| |
| A detailed [changelog](CHANGELOG.md) is available for releases. |
| |
| When upgrading to the next minor series (especially 0.4 → 0.5), we recommend |
| reading the [Upgrade Guide](https://rust-random.github.io/book/update.html). |
| |
| Rand has not yet reached 1.0 implying some breaking changes may arrive in the |
| future ([SemVer](https://semver.org/) allows each 0.x.0 release to include |
| breaking changes), but is considered *mature*: breaking changes are minimised |
| and breaking releases are infrequent. |
| |
| Rand libs have inter-dependencies and make use of the |
| [semver trick](https://github.com/dtolnay/semver-trick/) in order to make traits |
| compatible across crate versions. (This is especially important for `RngCore` |
| and `SeedableRng`.) A few crate releases are thus compatibility shims, |
| depending on the *next* lib version (e.g. `rand_core` versions `0.2.2` and |
| `0.3.1`). This means, for example, that `rand_core_0_4_0::SeedableRng` and |
| `rand_core_0_3_0::SeedableRng` are distinct, incompatible traits, which can |
| cause build errors. Usually, running `cargo update` is enough to fix any issues. |
| |
| ### Yanked versions |
| |
| Some versions of Rand crates have been yanked ("unreleased"). Where this occurs, |
| the crate's CHANGELOG *should* be updated with a rationale, and a search on the |
| issue tracker with the keyword `yank` *should* uncover the motivation. |
| |
| ### Rust version requirements |
| |
| Since version 0.8, Rand requires **Rustc version 1.36 or greater**. |
| Rand 0.7 requires Rustc 1.32 or greater while versions 0.5 require Rustc 1.22 or |
| greater, and 0.4 and 0.3 (since approx. June 2017) require Rustc version 1.15 or |
| greater. Subsets of the Rand code may work with older Rust versions, but this is |
| not supported. |
| |
| Continuous Integration (CI) will always test the minimum supported Rustc version |
| (the MSRV). The current policy is that this can be updated in any |
| Rand release if required, but the change must be noted in the changelog. |
| |
| ## Crate Features |
| |
| Rand is built with these features enabled by default: |
| |
| - `std` enables functionality dependent on the `std` lib |
| - `alloc` (implied by `std`) enables functionality requiring an allocator |
| - `getrandom` (implied by `std`) is an optional dependency providing the code |
| behind `rngs::OsRng` |
| - `std_rng` enables inclusion of `StdRng`, `thread_rng` and `random` |
| (the latter two *also* require that `std` be enabled) |
| |
| Optionally, the following dependencies can be enabled: |
| |
| - `log` enables logging via the `log` crate` crate |
| |
| Additionally, these features configure Rand: |
| |
| - `small_rng` enables inclusion of the `SmallRng` PRNG |
| - `nightly` enables some optimizations requiring nightly Rust |
| - `simd_support` (experimental) enables sampling of SIMD values |
| (uniformly random SIMD integers and floats), requiring nightly Rust |
| |
| Note that nightly features are not stable and therefore not all library and |
| compiler versions will be compatible. This is especially true of Rand's |
| experimental `simd_support` feature. |
| |
| Rand supports limited functionality in `no_std` mode (enabled via |
| `default-features = false`). In this case, `OsRng` and `from_entropy` are |
| unavailable (unless `getrandom` is enabled), large parts of `seq` are |
| unavailable (unless `alloc` is enabled), and `thread_rng` and `random` are |
| unavailable. |
| |
| # License |
| |
| Rand is distributed under the terms of both the MIT license and the |
| Apache License (Version 2.0). |
| |
| See [LICENSE-APACHE](LICENSE-APACHE) and [LICENSE-MIT](LICENSE-MIT), and |
| [COPYRIGHT](COPYRIGHT) for details. |
