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randn

Create a readable stream for generating pseudorandom numbers drawn from a standard normal distribution.

Installation

npm install @stdlib/random-streams-randn

Usage

var randomStream = require( '@stdlib/random-streams-randn' );

randomStream( [options] )

Returns a readable stream for generating pseudorandom numbers drawn from a standard normal distribution.

var inspectStream = require( '@stdlib/streams-node-inspect-sink' );

var iStream;
var stream;

function log( chunk, idx ) {
    console.log( chunk.toString() );
    if ( idx === 10 ) {
        stream.destroy();
    }
}

stream = randomStream();
iStream = inspectStream( log );

stream.pipe( iStream );

The function accepts the following options:

objectMode: specifies whether a stream should operate in objectMode. Default: false.
encoding: specifies how Buffer objects should be decoded to strings. Default: null.
highWaterMark: specifies the maximum number of bytes to store in an internal buffer before ceasing to generate additional pseudorandom numbers.
sep: separator used to join streamed data. This option is only applicable when a stream is not in objectMode. Default: '\n'.
iter: number of iterations.
name: name of a supported pseudorandom number generator (PRNG), which will serve as the underlying source of pseudorandom numbers. The following PRNGs are supported:
- improved-ziggurat: improved ziggurat method.
- box-muller: Box-Muller transform.
Default: 'improved-ziggurat'.
prng: pseudorandom number generator for generating uniformly distributed pseudorandom numbers on the interval [0,1). If provided, the function ignores both the state and seed options. In order to seed the returned iterator, one must seed the provided prng (assuming the provided prng is seedable).
seed: pseudorandom number generator seed.
state: a Uint32Array containing pseudorandom number generator state. If provided, the function ignores the seed option.
copy: boolean indicating whether to copy a provided pseudorandom number generator state. Setting this option to false allows sharing state between two or more pseudorandom number generators and/or streams. Setting this option to true ensures that a stream generator has exclusive control over its internal state. Default: true.
siter: number of iterations after which to emit the pseudorandom number generator state. This option is useful when wanting to deterministically capture a stream's underlying PRNG state. Default: 1e308.

To set stream options,

var opts = {
    'objectMode': true,
    'encoding': 'utf8',
    'highWaterMark': 64
};

var stream = randomStream( opts );

By default, the function returns a stream which can generate an infinite number of values (i.e., the stream will never end). To limit the number of generated pseudorandom numbers, set the iter option.

var inspectStream = require( '@stdlib/streams-node-inspect-sink' );

function log( chunk ) {
    console.log( chunk.toString() );
}

var opts = {
    'iter': 10
};

var stream = randomStream( opts );
var iStream = inspectStream( log );

stream.pipe( iStream );

By default, when not operating in objectMode, a returned stream delineates generated pseudorandom numbers using a newline character. To specify an alternative separator, set the sep option.

var inspectStream = require( '@stdlib/streams-node-inspect-sink' );

function log( chunk ) {
    console.log( chunk.toString() );
}

var opts = {
    'iter': 10,
    'sep': ','
};

var stream = randomStream( opts );
var iStream = inspectStream( log );

stream.pipe( iStream );

By default, the underlying pseudorandom number generator is improved-ziggurat. To use a different PRNG, set the name option.

var opts = {
    'name': 'box-muller'
};

var stream = randomStream( opts );

To use a custom PRNG as the underlying source of uniformly distributed pseudorandom numbers, set the prng option.

var minstd = require( '@stdlib/random-base-minstd' );

var opts = {
    'prng': minstd.normalized
};

var stream = randomStream( opts );

To seed the underlying pseudorandom number generator, set the seed option.

var inspectStream = require( '@stdlib/streams-node-inspect-sink' );

function log( v ) {
    console.log( v );
}

var opts = {
    'name': 'improved-ziggurat',
    'objectMode': true,
    'iter': 10,
    'seed': 1234
};

var stream = randomStream( opts );

opts = {
    'objectMode': true
};
var iStream = inspectStream( opts, log );

stream.pipe( iStream );

To return a readable stream with an underlying pseudorandom number generator having a specific initial state, set the state option.

var inspectStream = require( '@stdlib/streams-node-inspect-sink' );

function log( v ) {
    console.log( v );
}

var opts1 = {
    'name': 'improved-ziggurat',
    'objectMode': true,
    'iter': 10
};

var stream = randomStream( opts1 );

var opts2 = {
    'objectMode': true
};
var iStream = inspectStream( opts2, log );

// Stream pseudorandom numbers, thus progressing the underlying generator state:
stream.pipe( iStream );

// Create a new PRNG stream initialized to the last state of the previous stream:
var opts3 = {
    'name': 'improved-ziggurat',
    'objectMode': true,
    'iter': 10,
    'state': stream.state
};

stream = randomStream( opts3 );
iStream = inspectStream( opts2, log );

// Stream pseudorandom numbers starting from the last state of the previous stream:
stream.pipe( iStream );