X-Git-Url: https://pintos-os.org/cgi-bin/gitweb.cgi?a=blobdiff_plain;f=src%2Flib%2Frandom.c;h=c22414e9b779cd79123fe4390d3d0945b2d02d6c;hb=b13a0f40a52b47d3ceea92887adc9543c1d94aed;hp=3fcf62ddca797a1d9514a624d6aed59304d20d0a;hpb=5fbedf1d20c2b2f2dbc8c7ebd64cc7b4812a44bf;p=pintos-anon

diff --git a/src/lib/random.c b/src/lib/random.c
index 3fcf62d..c22414e 100644
--- a/src/lib/random.c
+++ b/src/lib/random.c
@@ -3,11 +3,24 @@
 #include <stdint.h>
 #include "debug.h"
 
-/* RC4-based pseudo-random state. */
-static uint8_t s[256];
-static uint8_t s_i, s_j;
-static bool inited;
+/* RC4-based pseudo-random number generator (PRNG).
 
+   RC4 is a stream cipher.  We're not using it here for its
+   cryptographic properties, but because it is easy to implement
+   and its output is plenty random for non-cryptographic
+   purposes.
+
+   See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RC4_(cipher) for information
+   on RC4.*/
+
+/* RC4 state. */
+static uint8_t s[256];          /* S[]. */
+static uint8_t s_i, s_j;        /* i, j. */
+
+/* Already initialized? */
+static bool inited;     
+
+/* Swaps the bytes pointed to by A and B. */
 static inline void
 swap_byte (uint8_t *a, uint8_t *b) 
 {
@@ -16,6 +29,8 @@ swap_byte (uint8_t *a, uint8_t *b)
   *b = t;
 }
 
+/* Initializes the PRNG with the given SEED.
+   Does nothing if the PRNG has already been initialized. */
 void
 random_init (unsigned seed)
 {
@@ -38,6 +53,7 @@ random_init (unsigned seed)
   inited = true;
 }
 
+/* Writes SIZE random bytes into BUF. */
 void
 random_bytes (void *buf_, size_t size) 
 {
@@ -57,7 +73,9 @@ random_bytes (void *buf_, size_t size)
     }
 }
 
-/* Returns a pseudo-random unsigned long. */
+/* Returns a pseudo-random unsigned long.
+   Use random_ulong() % n to obtain a random number in the range
+   0...n (exclusive). */
 unsigned long
 random_ulong (void) 
 {