Jim_from_Oz

Just a comment on random number generation. I was engaged by an entrepreneur to create an engine that would spit out random numbers for use in on-line gaming. Mathematical routines of themselves are unsatisfactory, because a hacker could read the sequence, work back to find the seed and then work forward again to forecast the upcoming numbers. The big thing, arising mainly from cryptographic research, is to use entropic generators (ERNGs) which rely on natural sources to provide genuinely random values. Sources which have been used include the output from geiger counters, electron fluctuations in various constructs such as transistors and so forth. My intention was to have a box with a number of loudspeakers tuned in to different radio stations, with a single microphone to pick up the mingled sounds and output a waveform that I could sample. I did a proof of concept program using .WAV files before my client ran out of money and disappeared into smoke. My program was written in C#. Incidentally, in the gaming industry, it is not enough just to write the generator. One must also write a series of monitoring and validation programs to satisfy the licensing authorities.