Instead of a truly random number, you wish to randomly select a value from a set in which some values are more likely than others. For example, you may wish to simulate a normal distribution (i.e., a "bell curve") for a set of data.
We will give a recipe for generating numbers with a normal distribution (aka Gaussian distribution, the bell shaped one). No existing library supports this functionality, though inspiration for one can be gained by viewing the
Schemathics CVS. We will discuss a do-it-yourself method for explanatory purposes.
You will have to determine what kind of distribution you want, and locate the appropriate algorithm from a statistics reference.
For this recipe, we will consider the normal (Gaussian) distribution. If you need other distributions see either the CVS or consult a numerical analyst.
The function
dis_var_new returns a stochastic variable (a thunk) with mean
mu and standard deviance
sigma.:
% derived from example in the documentation of SRFI27
% and translated to Erlang
-record( dist_state, {state, mu, sigma} ).
dist_var_new(Mu, Sigma) ->
dist_var_new(false, Mu, Sigma).
% create the thunk
dist_var_new(State, Mu, Sigma) ->
This = #dist_state {
state = State,
mu = 1.0 * Mu,
sigma = 1.0 * Sigma},
IntPid = spawn(cookbook, dispatch, [This]),
fun () ->
IntPid ! {self(), value},
receive
{retval, Any} -> Any
end
end.
dispatch(This) ->
receive
{Pid, value} ->
{NewThis, Value} = value(This),
Pid!{retval, Value},
dispatch(This)
end.
value(This) ->
case This#dist_state.state of
true -> Val = This#dist_state.mu
+ (This#dist_state.sigma * This#dist_state.state),
{This#dist_state{state = false}, Val};
_ -> sigma_loop(This)
end.
sigma_loop(This) ->
V1 = 2.0 * random:uniform() - 1.0,
V2 = 2.0 * random:uniform() - 1.0,
S = (V1 * V1) + (V2 * V2),
if
S >= 1.0 ->
sigma_loop(This);
true ->
Scale = math:sqrt( (-2.0 * math:log(S)) / S),
Val = This#dist_state.mu
+ (This#dist_state.sigma * Scale * V1),
{This#dist_state{state = Scale * V2}, Val}
end. |
This is an interesting example, because it makes use of the fact that Erlang processes are so cheap to create and use. In effect, we've
created a tiny server application who's only purpose is to listen
for invocation requests and return a new normalized random number.
An example of usage:
1> X=dist_var_new(0, 1).
#Fun<cookbook.4.38595032>
2> X1().
-0.873932
3> X1().
4.91005e-2
4> X1().
1.55993e-2
5> X1().
0.181456 |
If you are unsatisfied with the fact that you get the same numbers as above, then randomize the source of the random numbers:
The algorithm used is the polar Box Muller method. The algorithm takes two independent uniformly distributed random numbers between 0 and 1 (present in the code as
random:uniform()) and generates two numbers with a mean of my and standard deviation sigma. Note that the method produces two numbers at a time. Since we only need one, the second is saved for later in the variable
next.
Note that the Perl Cookbook includes an interesting discussion of converting a set of values (and weights) into a distribution. This should also be converted to Erlang and shown here.
Mathematically-inclined Erlangers should also take a good look at
Schemathics, which contains these and many other statistical methods.
--
BrentAFulgham - 14 May 2004
--
JensAxelSoegaard - 01 Jun 2004
[TODO: Move the following remarks to another recipe]
If you wish to randomly select from a set of weights and values, convert the weights into a probability distribution, then use the resulting distribution to pick a value.
If you have a list of weights and values you want to randomly pick from, follow this two-step process: First, turn the weights into a probability distribution with weight_to_dist below, and then use the distribution to randomly pick a value with weighted_rand:
--
BrentAFulgham - 25 Aug 2004
