A random seed (or seed state, or just seed) is a number (or vector) used to initialize a pseudorandom number generator. A number is an abstract entity that represents a count or measurement. ... In computer programming, a group of homogeneous elements of a specific data type is known as an array, one of the simplest data structures. ... A pseudorandom number generator (PRNG) is an algorithm that generates a sequence of numbers which are not truly random. ...

The choice of a good random seed is crucial in computer security - when a secret encryption key is pseudorandomly generated, a way to find it is to look for the seed used. Computer security is the current computer science collaboration of the week! Please help improve it to featured article standard. ... // In cryptography, encryption is the process of obscuring information to make it unreadable without special knowledge. ... A key is a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm. ... Key generation is the process of generating keys for cryptography. ...

If the same random seed is deliberately shared, two or more systems using matching pseudorandom number algorithms and matching seeds can generate matching sequences of non-repeating numbers which can be used to synchronize remote systems, such as GPS satellites and receivers. Over fifty GPS satellites such as this NAVSTAR have been launched since 1978. ...

Random seeds are often generated from the state of the computer system (such as the time), or from a hardware random number generator. A pocket watch, a device used to keep time There are two distinct views on the meaning of time. ... In computing, a hardware random number generator is an apparatus that generates random numbers from a physical process. ...

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