Preliminary Information

1. List of prerequisites: some exposure to sequences and series, some ability to work in base 2 arithmetic (helpful), good background in FORTRAN or some other procedural language.

2. List of computational methods: pseudorandom numbers; random numbers; linear, congruential generators (LCGs); lagged Fibonacci generators (LFGs).

3. List of architectures/computers: any computer with a FORTRAN compiler and bitwise logical functions.

4. List of codes supplied: ranlc.f(or) - linear, congruential generator, ranlf.f(or) - lagged Fibonacci generator, random.f(or) - ``portable'' linear, congruential generator, after Park and Miller, 1988. getseed.f(or) - to generate initial seeds from the time and date, implemented for Unix and IBM PC's.

5. Scope: 2-6 lectures, depending upon depth of coverage.

6. Keywords: Random, pseudorandom, linear congruential, lagged Fibonacci.