Re: [RFC] frandom - fast random generator module

[Matt Mackall <mpm@selenic.com>]

On Thu, Oct 16, 2003 at 09:28:58PM +0200, Eli Billauer wrote:
> Allow me to supply a couple facts about frandom:
> 
> * It's not a "crappy" RNG. Its RC4 origins and the fact, that it has 
> passed tests indicate the opposite. A fast RNG doesn't necessarily mean 
> a bad one. I doubt if any test will tell the difference between frandom 
> and any other good RNG. You're most welcome to try.
> 
> * Frandom is written completely in C. On an i686, gcc compiles the 
> critical part to 26 assembly instructions per byte, and I doubt if any 
> hand assembly would help significantly. The algorithms is clean and 
> simple, and the compiler performs well with it.

The output hash for /dev/random would use RC4 or the like except for
historical political reasons. I'm hoping to move it in that direction,
but adding yet another cryptographic algorithm outside cryptoapi is
a step in the wrong direction right now.

-- 
Matt Mackall : http://www.selenic.com : Linux development and consulting