print rand rand rand 1, ' '; # interesting distribution
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- He shows a Perl one‑liner that prints random numbers, noting its odd distribution.
- In plain terms
- The code prints random numbers with a strange pattern.
- What can you take from it?
- Simple code can hide unexpected behavior.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Why does this produce an odd distribution?
- How to verify randomness?
Another view
The comment is vague about why the distribution is interesting.
More from Larry Wall
Y'know, there are other possibilities if we assume that filenames are UTF-8...yikes...wait, put down that meat cleaver! Aieeee!!!
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Permalink to quote #193 I'm reminded of the day my daughter came in, looked over my shoulder at some Perl 4 code, and said, 'What is that, swearing?
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