{"id":11241,"date":"2011-11-10T09:56:03","date_gmt":"2011-11-10T09:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/pseudo-random-number-generator\/"},"modified":"2017-02-01T14:34:27","modified_gmt":"2017-02-01T14:34:27","slug":"pseudo-random-number-generator","status":"publish","type":"definition","link":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng","title":{"rendered":"Pseudo Random Number Generator"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span id=\"what_does_pseudo_random_number_generator_mean\">What Does Pseudo Random Number Generator Mean?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>A pseudo random number generator (PRNG) refers to an algorithm that uses mathematical formulas to produce sequences of random numbers. PRNGs generate a sequence of numbers approximating the properties of random numbers. This is determined by a small group of initial values. PRNGs are fundamental to the use of cryptographic mechanisms and key generation as they ensure message uniqueness.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tThis term is also known as deterministic random number generator.\n<\/p>\n<h2><span id=\"techopedia_explains_pseudo_random_number_generator\">Techopedia Explains Pseudo Random Number Generator<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Widely used PRNG algorithms include: linear congruential generators, lagged Fibonacci generators, linear feedback shift registers, Blum Blum Shub, Fortuna and Mersenne Twister.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tA pseudo random number generator starts from an arbitrary starting state using a seed state. Many numbers are generated in a short time and can also be reproduced later, if the starting point in the sequence is known. Hence, the numbers are deterministic and efficient.<\/p>\n<p>\n\tPRNGs used in cryptographic purposes are called cryptographically secure PRNGs (CSPRNGs). This includes stream ciphers and block ciphers. The essential requirement for a CSPRNG is that it should pass all statistical tests restricted to polynomial time in the size of the seed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What Does Pseudo Random Number Generator Mean? A pseudo random number generator (PRNG) refers to an algorithm that uses mathematical formulas to produce sequences of random numbers. PRNGs generate a sequence of numbers approximating the properties of random numbers. This is determined by a small group of initial values. PRNGs are fundamental to the use [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7813,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"definitioncat":[244,228,216],"class_list":["post-11241","definition","type-definition","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","definitioncat-programming-languages","definitioncat-risk-management","definitioncat-software-development"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.8 (Yoast SEO v23.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG)? - Definition from Techopedia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Pseudo Random Number Generator and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pseudo Random Number Generator\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This definition explains the meaning of Pseudo Random Number Generator and why it matters.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Techopedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-02-01T14:34:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@techopedia\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\"},\"headline\":\"Pseudo Random Number Generator\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-10T09:56:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-01T14:34:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng\"},\"wordCount\":195,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#respond\"]}],\"articleSection\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng\",\"name\":\"What is Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG)? - Definition from Techopedia\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-11-10T09:56:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-02-01T14:34:27+00:00\",\"description\":\"This definition explains the meaning of Pseudo Random Number Generator and why it matters.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Software Development\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/topic\/2\/software-development\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Term\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Pseudo Random Number Generator\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\",\"name\":\"Techopedia\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Techopedia\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/techopedia-light.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/techopedia-light.svg\",\"width\":209,\"height\":37,\"caption\":\"Techopedia\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/techopedia\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/techopedia\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Techopedia\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\/editorial-policy\",\"ownershipFundingInfo\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5\",\"name\":\"Margaret Rouse\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Margaret Rouse\"},\"description\":\"Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret\u2019s idea of \u200b\u200ba fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other\u2019s highly specialized languages.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretrouse\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/@techdefinitions\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"Technology expert\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/contributors\/margaret-rouse\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG)? - Definition from Techopedia","description":"This definition explains the meaning of Pseudo Random Number Generator and why it matters.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pseudo Random Number Generator","og_description":"This definition explains the meaning of Pseudo Random Number Generator and why it matters.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng","og_site_name":"Techopedia","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/","article_modified_time":"2017-02-01T14:34:27+00:00","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@techopedia","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng"},"author":{"name":"Margaret Rouse","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5"},"headline":"Pseudo Random Number Generator","datePublished":"2011-11-10T09:56:03+00:00","dateModified":"2017-02-01T14:34:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng"},"wordCount":195,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#respond"]}],"articleSection":""},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng","name":"What is Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG)? - Definition from Techopedia","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-11-10T09:56:03+00:00","dateModified":"2017-02-01T14:34:27+00:00","description":"This definition explains the meaning of Pseudo Random Number Generator and why it matters.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition\/25842\/pseudo-random-number-generator-prng#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Software Development","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/topic\/2\/software-development"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Term","item":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/definition"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Pseudo Random Number Generator"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/","name":"Techopedia","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#organization","name":"Techopedia","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/techopedia-light.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/techopedia-light.svg","width":209,"height":37,"caption":"Techopedia"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/techopedia\/","https:\/\/x.com\/techopedia","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/techopedia\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/c\/Techopedia"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about\/editorial-policy","ownershipFundingInfo":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/about"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5dd538e31ee352d105b8af36c4268a5","name":"Margaret Rouse","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/margaret-rouse-headshot.jpeg","caption":"Margaret Rouse"},"description":"Margaret is an award-winning writer and educator known for her ability to explain complex technical topics to a non-technical business audience. Over the past twenty years, her IT definitions have been published by Que in an encyclopedia of technology terms and cited in articles in the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine, and Discovery Magazine. She joined Techopedia in 2011. Margaret\u2019s idea of \u200b\u200ba fun day is to help IT and business professionals to learn to speak each other\u2019s highly specialized languages.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/margaretrouse\/","https:\/\/x.com\/https:\/\/twitter.com\/@techdefinitions"],"knowsAbout":["Technology expert"],"url":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/contributors\/margaret-rouse"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition\/11241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/definition"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7813"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definition\/11241\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"definitioncat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.techopedia.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/definitioncat?post=11241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}