# HG changeset patch
# User Markus Meisinger <chloros2@gmx.de>
# Date 1595704193 -7200
# Node ID 43c285a2082930e971e8fd4f0a5fa02d16a4c38a
# Parent  a61b651914d67a81fa8f4d209dd1df3288547495
Update documentation of the random number generator (bug #58800).

* rand.cc (Frand): Update documentation for the initialization of the random
number generator according to changes in a61b651914d6.

diff -r a61b651914d6 -r 43c285a20829 libinterp/corefcn/rand.cc
--- a/libinterp/corefcn/rand.cc	Thu Jul 23 14:24:46 2020 +0200
+++ b/libinterp/corefcn/rand.cc	Sat Jul 25 21:09:53 2020 +0200
@@ -388,12 +388,14 @@
 @leq{} 625 for @var{v}.  This new state will be a hash based on the value of
 @var{v}, not @var{v} itself.
 
-By default, the generator is initialized from @code{/dev/urandom} if it is
-available, otherwise from CPU time, wall clock time, and the current
-fraction of a second.  Note that this differs from @sc{matlab}, which
-always initializes the state to the same state at startup.  To obtain
-behavior comparable to @sc{matlab}, initialize with a deterministic state
-vector in Octave's startup files (@pxref{Startup Files}).
+By default, the generator is initialized by contributing entropy from the
+wall clock time, the CPU time, the current fraction of a second, the process
+ID and---if available---up to 1024 bits from the C++ random numbers source
+@code{random_device}, which might be non-deterministic (implementation
+specific).  Note that this differs from @sc{matlab}, which always initializes
+the state to the same state at startup.  To obtain behavior comparable to
+@sc{matlab}, initialize with a deterministic state vector in Octave's startup
+files (@pxref{Startup Files}).
 
 To compute the pseudo-random sequence, @code{rand} uses the Mersenne
 Twister with a period of @math{2^{19937}-1}