Changing the random number generator

The random module in NumPy provides several alternatives to the default PRNG, which uses a 128-bit permutation congruential generator. While this is a good general-purpose random number generator, it might not be sufficient for your particular needs. For example, this algorithm is very different from the one used in Python’s internal random number generator. We will follow the guidelines for best practice set out in the NumPy documentation for running repeatable but suitably random simulations.

In this recipe, we will show you how to change to an alternative PRNG and how to use seeds effectively in your programs.

Getting ready

As usual, we import NumPy under the np alias. Since we will be using multiple items from the random package, we import that module from NumPy, too, using the following code:

from numpy import random

You will need to select one of the alternative random number generators that are provided by NumPy (or...