Thread: pseudo-random floating point generator based on mean and standard deviation

  1. #1
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    pseudo-random floating point generator based on mean and standard deviation

    Does anyone know of an algorithm that will generate a pseudo-random floating point number based on two parameters - mean (average) and standard deviation (the average of absolute distances between elements and the mean)?

    My 10 minutes of Googling doesn't seem to produce anything useful.

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Take a look at Boost's random number generators, perhaps in particular the one for lognormal distribution.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bjarne Stroustrup (2000-10-14)
    I get maybe two dozen requests for help with some sort of programming or design problem every day. Most have more sense than to send me hundreds of lines of code. If they do, I ask them to find the smallest example that exhibits the problem and send me that. Mostly, they then find the error themselves. "Finding the smallest program that demonstrates the error" is a powerful debugging tool.
    Look up a C++ Reference and learn How To Ask Questions The Smart Way

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    Thanks.

    I was actually more interested in the algorithm and not finding an implementation. A trip to wikipedia proves it beyond me in terms of math knowledge, though.

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