Subject: Re: arc4random(9)
To: None <itojun@iijlab.net>
From: Thor Lancelot Simon <tls@rek.tjls.com>
List: tech-kern
Date: 05/29/2002 03:10:07
On Wed, May 29, 2002 at 03:59:27PM +0900, itojun@iijlab.net wrote:
> >It seems to me that the *right* thing to do would be to persuade the other
> >BSD camps to replace arc4random() with an RC4-based random() implementation.
> >It is not *always* wrong to do things better and try to persuade the other
> >guys to see the light, after all.
> 
> 	go ahead.  i won't stop you from persuading others.  i have other
> 	important things to do than "this name is better" battle.

I think it's abundantly clear that the function name is hardly the only
issue here.

1) You committed the code almost immediately after "asking" about it on the
   lists.  What was the point of "asking" if you were going to commit the
   code before anyone had a chance to comment -- or did you already have
   your mind made up and just want to *appear* to be soliciting input?

2) If the reseeding from /dev/random can't be turned off, the code's not
   useful as random().  You yourself even suggested earlier that it would
   be desirable to use the code as random().

-- 
 Thor Lancelot Simon	                                      tls@rek.tjls.com
   But as he knew no bad language, he had called him all the names of common
 objects that he could think of, and had screamed: "You lamp!  You towel!  You
 plate!" and so on.              --Sigmund Freud