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* gsl-ref: (gsl-ref).                   GNU Scientific Library - Reference
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   This file documents the GNU Scientific Library.

   Copyright (C) 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 The GSL Team.

   Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
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copy of the license is included in the section entitled "GNU Free
Documentation License".


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Numerical Integration Introduction,  Next: QNG non-adaptive Gauss-Kronrod integration,  Up: Numerical Integration

Introduction
============

   Each algorithm computes an approximation to a definite integral of
the form,

     I = \int_a^b f(x) w(x) dx

where w(x) is a weight function (for general integrands w(x)=1).  The
user provides absolute and relative error bounds (epsabs, epsrel) which
specify the following accuracy requirement,

     |RESULT - I|  <= max(epsabs, epsrel |I|)

where RESULT is the numerical approximation obtained by the algorithm.
The algorithms attempt to estimate the absolute error ABSERR = |RESULT
- I| in such a way that the following inequality holds,

     |RESULT - I| <= ABSERR <= max(epsabs, epsrel |I|)

The routines will fail to converge if the error bounds are too
stringent, but always return the best approximation obtained up to that
stage.

   The algorithms in QUADPACK use a naming convention based on the
following letters,

     `Q' - quadrature routine
     
     `N' - non-adaptive integrator
     `A' - adaptive integrator
     
     `G' - general integrand (user-defined)
     `W' - weight function with integrand
     
     `S' - singularities can be more readily integrated
     `P' - points of special difficulty can be supplied
     `I' - infinite range of integration
     `O' - oscillatory weight function, cos or sin
     `F' - Fourier integral
     `C' - Cauchy principal value

The algorithms are built on pairs of quadrature rules, a higher order
rule and a lower order rule.  The higher order rule is used to compute
the best approximation to an integral over a small range.  The
difference between the results of the higher order rule and the lower
order rule gives an estimate of the error in the approximation.

   The algorithms for general functions (without a weight function) are
based on Gauss-Kronrod rules. A Gauss-Kronrod rule begins with a
classical Gaussian quadrature rule of order m.  This is extended with
additional points between each of the abscissae to give a higher order
Kronrod rule of order 2m+1.  The Kronrod rule is efficient because it
reuses existing function evaluations from the Gaussian rule.  The
higher order Kronrod rule is used as the best approximation to the
integral, and the difference between the two rules is used as an
estimate of the error in the approximation.

   For integrands with weight functions the algorithms use
Clenshaw-Curtis quadrature rules.  A Clenshaw-Curtis rule begins with
an n-th order Chebyschev polynomial approximation to the integrand.
This polynomial can be integrated exactly to give an approximation to
the integral of the original function.  The Chebyschev expansion can be
extended to higher orders to improve the approximation.  The presence of
singularities (or other behavior) in the integrand can cause slow
convergence in the Chebyschev approximation.  The modified
Clenshaw-Curtis rules used in QUADPACK separate out several common
weight functions which cause slow convergence.  These weight functions
are integrated analytically against the Chebyschev polynomials to
precompute "modified Chebyschev moments".  Combining the moments with
the Chebyschev approximation to the function gives the desired
integral.  The use of analytic integration for the singular part of the
function allows exact cancellations and substantially improves the
overall convergence behavior of the integration.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QNG non-adaptive Gauss-Kronrod integration,  Next: QAG adaptive integration,  Prev: Numerical Integration Introduction,  Up: Numerical Integration

QNG non-adaptive Gauss-Kronrod integration
==========================================

   The QNG algorithm is non-adaptive procedure which uses fixed
Gauss-Kronrod abscissae to sample the integrand at a maximum of 87
points.  It is provided for fast integration of smooth functions.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qng (const gsl_function *F, double A,
          double B, double EPSABS, double EPSREL, double * RESULT,
          double * ABSERR, size_t * NEVAL)
     This function applies the Gauss-Kronrod 10-point, 21-point,
     43-point and 87-point integration rules in succession until an
     estimate of the integral of f over (a,b) is achieved within the
     desired absolute and relative error limits, EPSABS and EPSREL.  The
     function returns the final approximation, RESULT, an estimate of
     the absolute error, ABSERR and the number of function evaluations
     used, NEVAL.  The Gauss-Kronrod rules are designed in such a way
     that each rule uses all the results of its predecessors, in order
     to minimize the total number of function evaluations.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAG adaptive integration,  Next: QAGS adaptive integration with singularities,  Prev: QNG non-adaptive Gauss-Kronrod integration,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAG adaptive integration
========================

   The QAG algorithm is a simple adaptive integration procedure.  The
integration region is divided into subintervals, and on each iteration
the subinterval with the largest estimated error is bisected.  This
reduces the overall error rapidly, as the subintervals become
concentrated around local difficulties in the integrand.  These
subintervals are managed by a `gsl_integration_workspace' struct, which
handles the memory for the subinterval ranges, results and error
estimates.

 - Function: gsl_integration_workspace *
          gsl_integration_workspace_alloc (size_t N)
     This function allocates a workspace sufficient to hold N double
     precision intervals, their integration results and error estimates.

 - Function: void gsl_integration_workspace_free
          (gsl_integration_workspace * W)
     This function frees the memory associated with the workspace W.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qag (const gsl_function *F, double A,
          double B, double EPSABS, double EPSREL, size_t LIMIT, int
          KEY, gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE, double * RESULT,
          double * ABSERR)
     This function applies an integration rule adaptively until an
     estimate of the integral of f over (a,b) is achieved within the
     desired absolute and relative error limits, EPSABS and EPSREL.
     The function returns the final approximation, RESULT, and an
     estimate of the absolute error, ABSERR.  The integration rule is
     determined by the value of KEY, which should be chosen from the
     following symbolic names,

          GSL_INTEG_GAUSS15  (key = 1)
          GSL_INTEG_GAUSS21  (key = 2)
          GSL_INTEG_GAUSS31  (key = 3)
          GSL_INTEG_GAUSS41  (key = 4)
          GSL_INTEG_GAUSS51  (key = 5)
          GSL_INTEG_GAUSS61  (key = 6)

     corresponding to the 15, 21, 31, 41, 51 and 61 point Gauss-Kronrod
     rules.  The higher-order rules give better accuracy for smooth
     functions, while lower-order rules save time when the function
     contains local difficulties, such as discontinuities.

     On each iteration the adaptive integration strategy bisects the
     interval with the largest error estimate.  The subintervals and
     their results are stored in the memory provided by WORKSPACE.  The
     maximum number of subintervals is given by LIMIT, which may not
     exceed the allocated size of the workspace.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAGS adaptive integration with singularities,  Next: QAGP adaptive integration with known singular points,  Prev: QAG adaptive integration,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAGS adaptive integration with singularities
============================================

   The presence of an integrable singularity in the integration region
causes an adaptive routine to concentrate new subintervals around the
singularity.  As the subintervals decrease in size the successive
approximations to the integral converge in a limiting fashion.  This
approach to the limit can be accelerated using an extrapolation
procedure.  The QAGS algorithm combines adaptive bisection with the Wynn
epsilon-algorithm to speed up the integration of many types of
integrable singularities.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qags (const gsl_function * F, double
          A, double B, double EPSABS, double EPSREL, size_t LIMIT,
          gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE, double *RESULT, double
          *ABSERR)
     This function applies the Gauss-Kronrod 21-point integration rule
     adaptively until an estimate of the integral of f over (a,b) is
     achieved within the desired absolute and relative error limits,
     EPSABS and EPSREL.  The results are extrapolated using the
     epsilon-algorithm, which accelerates the convergence of the
     integral in the presence of discontinuities and integrable
     singularities.  The function returns the final approximation from
     the extrapolation, RESULT, and an estimate of the absolute error,
     ABSERR.  The subintervals and their results are stored in the
     memory provided by WORKSPACE.  The maximum number of subintervals
     is given by LIMIT, which may not exceed the allocated size of the
     workspace.



File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAGP adaptive integration with known singular points,  Next: QAGI adaptive integration on infinite intervals,  Prev: QAGS adaptive integration with singularities,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAGP adaptive integration with known singular points
====================================================

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qagp (const gsl_function * F, double
          *PTS, size_t NPTS, double EPSABS, double EPSREL, size_t
          LIMIT, gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE, double *RESULT,
          double *ABSERR)
     This function applies the adaptive integration algorithm QAGS
     taking account of the user-supplied locations of singular points.
     The array PTS of length NPTS should contain the endpoints of the
     integration ranges defined by the integration region and locations
     of the singularities.  For example, to integrate over the region
     (a,b) with break-points at x_1, x_2, x_3 (where a < x_1 < x_2 <
     x_3 < b) the following PTS array should be used

          pts[0] = a
          pts[1] = x_1
          pts[2] = x_2
          pts[3] = x_3
          pts[4] = b

     with NPTS = 5.

     If you know the locations of the singular points in the integration
     region then this routine will be faster than `QAGS'.



File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAGI adaptive integration on infinite intervals,  Next: QAWC adaptive integration for Cauchy principal values,  Prev: QAGP adaptive integration with known singular points,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAGI adaptive integration on infinite intervals
===============================================

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qagi (gsl_function * F, double EPSABS,
          double EPSREL, size_t LIMIT, gsl_integration_workspace *
          WORKSPACE, double *RESULT, double *ABSERR)
     This function computes the integral of the function F over the
     infinite interval (-\infty,+\infty).  The integral is mapped onto
     the interval (0,1] using the transformation x = (1-t)/t,

          \int_{-\infty}^{+\infty} dx f(x) =
               \int_0^1 dt (f((1-t)/t) + f((-1+t)/t))/t^2.

     It is then integrated using the QAGS algorithm.  The normal
     21-point Gauss-Kronrod rule of QAGS is replaced by a 15-point
     rule, because the transformation can generate an integrable
     singularity at the origin.  In this case a lower-order rule is
     more efficient.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qagiu (gsl_function * F, double A,
          double EPSABS, double EPSREL, size_t LIMIT,
          gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE, double *RESULT, double
          *ABSERR)
     This function computes the integral of the function F over the
     semi-infinite interval (a,+\infty).  The integral is mapped onto
     the interval (0,1] using the transformation x = a + (1-t)/t,

          \int_{a}^{+\infty} dx f(x) =
               \int_0^1 dt f(a + (1-t)/t)/t^2

     and then integrated using the QAGS algorithm.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qagil (gsl_function * F, double B,
          double EPSABS, double EPSREL, size_t LIMIT,
          gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE, double *RESULT, double
          *ABSERR)
     This function computes the integral of the function F over the
     semi-infinite interval (-\infty,b).  The integral is mapped onto
     the region (0,1] using the transformation x = b - (1-t)/t,

          \int_{+\infty}^{b} dx f(x) =
               \int_0^1 dt f(b - (1-t)/t)/t^2

     and then integrated using the QAGS algorithm.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAWC adaptive integration for Cauchy principal values,  Next: QAWS adaptive integration for singular functions,  Prev: QAGI adaptive integration on infinite intervals,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAWC adaptive integration for Cauchy principal values
=====================================================

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qawc (gsl_function *F, double A,
          double B, double C, double EPSABS, double EPSREL, size_t
          LIMIT, gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE, double *
          RESULT, double * ABSERR)
     This function computes the Cauchy principal value of the integral
     of f over (a,b), with a singularity at C,

          I = \int_a^b dx f(x) / (x - c)

     The adaptive bisection algorithm of QAG is used, with
     modifications to ensure that subdivisions do not occur at the
     singular point x = c.  When a subinterval contains the point x = c
     or is close to it then a special 25-point modified Clenshaw-Curtis
     rule is used to control the singularity.  Further away from the
     singularity the algorithm uses an ordinary 15-point Gauss-Kronrod
     integration rule.



File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAWS adaptive integration for singular functions,  Next: QAWO adaptive integration for oscillatory functions,  Prev: QAWC adaptive integration for Cauchy principal values,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAWS adaptive integration for singular functions
================================================

   The QAWS algorithm is designed for integrands with
algebraic-logarithmic singularities at the end-points of an integration
region.  In order to work efficiently the algorithm requires a
precomputed table of Chebyschev moments.

 - Function: gsl_integration_qaws_table *
gsl_integration_qaws_table_alloc (double ALPHA, double BETA, int MU,
          int NU)
     This function allocates space for a `gsl_integration_qaws_table'
     struct and associated workspace describing a singular weight
     function W(x) with the parameters (\alpha, \beta, \mu, \nu),

          W(x) = (x-a)^alpha (b-x)^beta log^mu (x-a) log^nu (b-x)

     where \alpha < -1, \beta < -1, and \mu = 0, 1, \nu = 0, 1.  The
     weight function can take four different forms depending on the
     values of \mu and \nu,

          W(x) = (x-a)^alpha (b-x)^beta                   (mu = 0, nu = 0)
          W(x) = (x-a)^alpha (b-x)^beta log(x-a)          (mu = 1, nu = 0)
          W(x) = (x-a)^alpha (b-x)^beta log(b-x)          (mu = 0, nu = 1)
          W(x) = (x-a)^alpha (b-x)^beta log(x-a) log(b-x) (mu = 1, nu = 1)

     The singular points (a,b) do not have to be specified until the
     integral is computed, where they are the endpoints of the
     integration range.

     The function returns a pointer to the newly allocated
     `gsl_integration_qaws_table' if no errors were detected, and 0 in
     the case of error.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qaws_table_set
          (gsl_integration_qaws_table * T, double ALPHA, double BETA,
          int MU, int NU)
     This function modifies the parameters (\alpha, \beta, \mu, \nu) of
     an existing `gsl_integration_qaws_table' struct T.

 - Function: void gsl_integration_qaws_table_free
          (gsl_integration_qaws_table * T)
     This function frees all the memory associated with the
     `gsl_integration_qaws_table' struct T.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qaws (gsl_function * F, const double
          A, const double B, gsl_integration_qaws_table * T, const
          double EPSABS, const double EPSREL, const size_t LIMIT,
          gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE, double *RESULT, double
          *ABSERR)
     This function computes the integral of the function f(x) over the
     interval (a,b) with the singular weight function (x-a)^\alpha
     (b-x)^\beta \log^\mu (x-a) \log^\nu (b-x).  The parameters of the
     weight function (\alpha, \beta, \mu, \nu) are taken from the table
     T.  The integral is,

          I = \int_a^b dx f(x) (x-a)^alpha (b-x)^beta log^mu (x-a) log^nu (b-x).

     The adaptive bisection algorithm of QAG is used.  When a
     subinterval contains one of the endpoints then a special 25-point
     modified Clenshaw-Curtis rule is used to control the
     singularities.  For subintervals which do not include the
     endpoints an ordinary 15-point Gauss-Kronrod integration rule is
     used.



File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAWO adaptive integration for oscillatory functions,  Next: QAWF adaptive integration for Fourier integrals,  Prev: QAWS adaptive integration for singular functions,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAWO adaptive integration for oscillatory functions
===================================================

   The QAWO algorithm is designed for integrands with an oscillatory
factor, \sin(\omega x) or \cos(\omega x).  In order to work efficiently
the algorithm requires a table of Chebyschev moments which must be
pre-computed with calls to the functions below.

 - Function: gsl_integration_qawo_table *
gsl_integration_qawo_table_alloc (double OMEGA, double L, enum
          gsl_integration_qawo_enum SINE, size_t N)
     This function allocates space for a `gsl_integration_qawo_table'
     struct and its associated workspace describing a sine or cosine
     weight function W(x) with the parameters (\omega, L),

          W(x) = sin(omega x)
          W(x) = cos(omega x)

     The parameter L must be the length of the interval over which the
     function will be integrated L = b - a.  The choice of sine or
     cosine is made with the parameter SINE which should be chosen from
     one of the two following symbolic values:

          GSL_INTEG_COSINE
          GSL_INTEG_SINE

     The `gsl_integration_qawo_table' is a table of the trigonometric
     coefficients required in the integration process.  The parameter N
     determines the number of levels of coefficients that are computed.
     Each level corresponds to one bisection of the interval L, so that
     N levels are sufficient for subintervals down to the length L/2^n.
     The integration routine `gsl_integration_qawo' returns the error
     `GSL_ETABLE' if the number of levels is insufficient for the
     requested accuracy.


 - Function: int gsl_integration_qawo_table_set
          (gsl_integration_qawo_table * T, double OMEGA, double L, enum
          gsl_integration_qawo_enum SINE)
     This function changes the parameters OMEGA, L and SINE of the
     existing workspace T.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qawo_table_set_length
          (gsl_integration_qawo_table * T, double L)
     This function allows the length parameter L of the workspace T to
     be changed.

 - Function: void gsl_integration_qawo_table_free
          (gsl_integration_qawo_table * T)
     This function frees all the memory associated with the workspace T.

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qawo (gsl_function * F, const double
          A, const double EPSABS, const double EPSREL, const size_t
          LIMIT, gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE,
          gsl_integration_qawo_table * WF, double *RESULT, double
          *ABSERR)
     This function uses an adaptive algorithm to compute the integral of
     f over (a,b) with the weight function \sin(\omega x) or
     \cos(\omega x) defined by the table WF.

          I = \int_a^b dx f(x) sin(omega x)
          I = \int_a^b dx f(x) cos(omega x)

     The results are extrapolated using the epsilon-algorithm to
     accelerate the convergence of the integral.  The function returns
     the final approximation from the extrapolation, RESULT, and an
     estimate of the absolute error, ABSERR.  The subintervals and
     their results are stored in the memory provided by WORKSPACE.  The
     maximum number of subintervals is given by LIMIT, which may not
     exceed the allocated size of the workspace.

     Those subintervals with "large" widths d, d\omega > 4 are computed
     using a 25-point Clenshaw-Curtis integration rule, which handles
     the oscillatory behavior.  Subintervals with a "small" width
     d\omega < 4 are computed using a 15-point Gauss-Kronrod
     integration.



File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: QAWF adaptive integration for Fourier integrals,  Next: Numerical integration error codes,  Prev: QAWO adaptive integration for oscillatory functions,  Up: Numerical Integration

QAWF adaptive integration for Fourier integrals
===============================================

 - Function: int gsl_integration_qawf (gsl_function * F, const double
          A, const double EPSABS, const size_t LIMIT,
          gsl_integration_workspace * WORKSPACE,
          gsl_integration_workspace * CYCLE_WORKSPACE,
          gsl_integration_qawo_table * WF, double *RESULT, double
          *ABSERR)
     This function attempts to compute a Fourier integral of the
     function F over the semi-infinite interval [a,+\infty).

          I = \int_a^{+\infty} dx f(x) sin(omega x)
          I = \int_a^{+\infty} dx f(x) cos(omega x)

     The parameter \omega is taken from the table WF (the length L can
     take any value, since it is overridden by this function to a value
     appropriate for the fourier integration).  The integral is computed
     using the QAWO algorithm over each of the subintervals,

          C_1 = [a, a + c]
          C_2 = [a + c, a + 2 c]
          ... = ...
          C_k = [a + (k-1) c, a + k c]

     where c = (2 floor(|\omega|) + 1) \pi/|\omega|.  The width c is
     chosen to cover an odd number of periods so that the contributions
     from the intervals alternate in sign and are monotonically
     decreasing when F is positive and monotonically decreasing.  The
     sum of this sequence of contributions is accelerated using the
     epsilon-algorithm.

     This function works to an overall absolute tolerance of ABSERR.
     The following strategy is used: on each interval C_k the algorithm
     tries to achieve the tolerance

          TOL_k = u_k abserr

     where u_k = (1 - p)p^{k-1} and p = 9/10.  The sum of the geometric
     series of contributions from each interval gives an overall
     tolerance of ABSERR.

     If the integration of a subinterval leads to difficulties then the
     accuracy requirement for subsequent intervals is relaxed,

          TOL_k = u_k max(abserr, max_{i<k}{E_i})

     where E_k is the estimated error on the interval C_k.

     The subintervals and their results are stored in the memory
     provided by WORKSPACE.  The maximum number of subintervals is
     given by LIMIT, which may not exceed the allocated size of the
     workspace.  The integration over each subinterval uses the memory
     provided by CYCLE_WORKSPACE as workspace for the QAWO algorithm.



File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Numerical integration error codes,  Next: Numerical integration examples,  Prev: QAWF adaptive integration for Fourier integrals,  Up: Numerical Integration

Error codes
===========

   In addition to the standard error codes for invalid arguments the
functions can return the following values,

`GSL_EMAXITER'
     the maximum number of subdivisions was exceeded.

`GSL_EROUND'
     cannot reach tolerance because of roundoff error, or roundoff
     error was detected in the extrapolation table.

`GSL_ESING'
     a non-integrable singularity or other bad integrand behavior was
     found in the integration interval.

`GSL_EDIVERGE'
     the integral is divergent, or too slowly convergent to be
     integrated numerically.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Numerical integration examples,  Next: Numerical integration References and Further Reading,  Prev: Numerical integration error codes,  Up: Numerical Integration

Examples
========

   The integrator `QAGS' will handle a large class of definite
integrals.  For example, consider the following integral, which has a
algebraic-logarithmic singularity at the origin,

     \int_0^1 x^{-1/2} log(x) dx = -4

The program below computes this integral to a relative accuracy bound of
`1e-7'.

     #include <stdio.h>
     #include <math.h>
     #include <gsl/gsl_integration.h>
     
     double f (double x, void * params) {
       double alpha = *(double *) params;
       double f = log(alpha*x) / sqrt(x);
       return f;
     }
     
     int
     main (void)
     {
       gsl_integration_workspace * w
         = gsl_integration_workspace_alloc(1000);
     
       double result, error;
       double expected = -4.0;
       double alpha = 1.0;
     
       gsl_function F;
       F.function = &f;
       F.params = &alpha;
     
       gsl_integration_qags (&F, 0, 1, 0, 1e-7, 1000,
                             w, &result, &error);
     
       printf("result          = % .18f\n", result);
       printf("exact result    = % .18f\n", expected);
       printf("estimated error = % .18f\n", error);
       printf("actual error    = % .18f\n", result - expected);
       printf("intervals =  %d\n", w->size);
     
       return 0;
     }

The results below show that the desired accuracy is achieved after 8
subdivisions.

     bash$ ./a.out
     result          = -3.999999999999973799
     exact result    = -4.000000000000000000
     estimated error =  0.000000000000246025
     actual error    =  0.000000000000026201
     intervals =  8

In fact, the extrapolation procedure used by `QAGS' produces an
accuracy of almost twice as many digits.  The error estimate returned by
the extrapolation procedure is larger than the actual error, giving a
margin of safety of one order of magnitude.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Numerical integration References and Further Reading,  Prev: Numerical integration examples,  Up: Numerical Integration

References and Further Reading
==============================

The following book is the definitive reference for QUADPACK, and was
written by the original authors.  It provides descriptions of the
algorithms, program listings, test programs and examples.  It also
includes useful advice on numerical integration and many references to
the numerical integration literature used in developing QUADPACK.

     R. Piessens, E. de Doncker-Kapenga, C.W. Uberhuber, D.K. Kahaner.
     `QUADPACK A subroutine package for automatic integration' Springer
     Verlag, 1983.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Random Number Generation,  Next: Quasi-Random Sequences,  Prev: Numerical Integration,  Up: Top

Random Number Generation
************************

The library provides a large collection of random number generators
which can be accessed through a uniform interface.  Environment
variables allow you to select different generators and seeds at runtime,
so that you can easily switch between generators without needing to
recompile your program.  Each instance of a generator keeps track of its
own state, allowing the generators to be used in multi-threaded
programs.  Additional functions are available for transforming uniform
random numbers into samples from continuous or discrete probability
distributions such as the Gaussian, log-normal or Poisson distributions.

   These functions are declared in the header file `gsl_rng.h'.

* Menu:

* General comments on random numbers::
* The Random Number Generator Interface::
* Random number generator initialization::
* Sampling from a random number generator::
* Auxiliary random number generator functions::
* Random number environment variables::
* Saving and restoring random number generator state::
* Random number generator algorithms::
* Unix random number generators::
* Numerical Recipes generators::
* Other random number generators::
* Random Number Generator Performance::
* Random Number Generator Examples::
* Random Number References and Further Reading::
* Random Number Acknowledgements::


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: General comments on random numbers,  Next: The Random Number Generator Interface,  Up: Random Number Generation

General comments on random numbers
==================================

   In 1988, Park and Miller wrote a paper entitled "Random number
generators: good ones are hard to find." [Commun. ACM, 31, 1192-1201].
Fortunately, some excellent random number generators are available,
though poor ones are still in common use.  You may be happy with the
system-supplied random number generator on your computer, but you should
be aware that as computers get faster, requirements on random number
generators increase.  Nowadays, a simulation that calls a random number
generator millions of times can often finish before you can make it down
the hall to the coffee machine and back.

   A very nice review of random number generators was written by Pierre
L'Ecuyer, as Chapter 4 of the book: Handbook on Simulation, Jerry Banks,
ed. (Wiley, 1997).  The chapter is available in postscript from from
L'Ecuyer's ftp site (see references).  Knuth's volume on Seminumerical
Algorithms (originally published in 1968) devotes 170 pages to random
number generators, and has recently been updated in its 3rd edition
(1997).  It is brilliant, a classic.  If you don't own it, you should
stop reading right now, run to the nearest bookstore, and buy it.

   A good random number generator will satisfy both theoretical and
statistical properties.  Theoretical properties are often hard to obtain
(they require real math!), but one prefers a random number generator
with a long period, low serial correlation, and a tendency _not_ to
"fall mainly on the planes."  Statistical tests are performed with
numerical simulations.  Generally, a random number generator is used to
estimate some quantity for which the theory of probability provides an
exact answer.  Comparison to this exact answer provides a measure of
"randomness".


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: The Random Number Generator Interface,  Next: Random number generator initialization,  Prev: General comments on random numbers,  Up: Random Number Generation

The Random Number Generator Interface
=====================================

   It is important to remember that a random number generator is not a
"real" function like sine or cosine.  Unlike real functions, successive
calls to a random number generator yield different return values.  Of
course that is just what you want for a random number generator, but to
achieve this effect, the generator must keep track of some kind of
"state" variable.  Sometimes this state is just an integer (sometimes
just the value of the previously generated random number), but often it
is more complicated than that and may involve a whole array of numbers,
possibly with some indices thrown in.  To use the random number
generators, you do not need to know the details of what comprises the
state, and besides that varies from algorithm to algorithm.

   The random number generator library uses two special structs,
`gsl_rng_type' which holds static information about each type of
generator and `gsl_rng' which describes an instance of a generator
created from a given `gsl_rng_type'.

   The functions described in this section are declared in the header
file `gsl_rng.h'.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Random number generator initialization,  Next: Sampling from a random number generator,  Prev: The Random Number Generator Interface,  Up: Random Number Generation

Random number generator initialization
======================================

 - Random: gsl_rng * gsl_rng_alloc (const gsl_rng_type * T)
     This function returns a pointer to a newly-created instance of a
     random number generator of type T.  For example, the following
     code creates an instance of the Tausworthe generator,

          gsl_rng * r = gsl_rng_alloc (gsl_rng_taus);

     If there is insufficient memory to create the generator then the
     function returns a null pointer and the error handler is invoked
     with an error code of `GSL_ENOMEM'.

     The generator is automatically initialized with the default seed,
     `gsl_rng_default_seed'.  This is zero by default but can be changed
     either directly or by using the environment variable `GSL_RNG_SEED'
     (*note Random number environment variables::).

     The details of the available generator types are described later
     in this chapter.

 - Random: void gsl_rng_set (const gsl_rng * R, unsigned long int S)
     This function initializes (or `seeds') the random number
     generator.  If the generator is seeded with the same value of S on
     two different runs, the same stream of random numbers will be
     generated by successive calls to the routines below.  If different
     values of S are supplied, then the generated streams of random
     numbers should be completely different.  If the seed S is zero
     then the standard seed from the original implementation is used
     instead.  For example, the original Fortran source code for the
     `ranlux' generator used a seed of 314159265, and so choosing S
     equal to zero reproduces this when using `gsl_rng_ranlux'.

 - Random: void gsl_rng_free (gsl_rng * R)
     This function frees all the memory associated with the generator R.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Sampling from a random number generator,  Next: Auxiliary random number generator functions,  Prev: Random number generator initialization,  Up: Random Number Generation

Sampling from a random number generator
=======================================

   The following functions return uniformly distributed random numbers,
either as integers or double precision floating point numbers.  To
obtain non-uniform distributions *note Random Number Distributions::.

 - Random: unsigned long int gsl_rng_get (const gsl_rng * R)
     This function returns a random integer from the generator R.  The
     minimum and maximum values depend on the algorithm used, but all
     integers in the range [MIN,MAX] are equally likely.  The values of
     MIN and MAX can determined using the auxiliary functions
     `gsl_rng_max (r)' and `gsl_rng_min (r)'.

 - Random: double gsl_rng_uniform (const gsl_rng * R)
     This function returns a double precision floating point number
     uniformly distributed in the range [0,1).  The range includes 0.0
     but excludes 1.0.  The value is typically obtained by dividing the
     result of `gsl_rng_get(r)' by `gsl_rng_max(r) + 1.0' in double
     precision.  Some generators compute this ratio internally so that
     they can provide floating point numbers with more than 32 bits of
     randomness (the maximum number of bits that can be portably
     represented in a single `unsigned long int').

 - Random: double gsl_rng_uniform_pos (const gsl_rng * R)
     This function returns a positive double precision floating point
     number uniformly distributed in the range (0,1), excluding both
     0.0 and 1.0.  The number is obtained by sampling the generator
     with the algorithm of `gsl_rng_uniform' until a non-zero value is
     obtained.  You can use this function if you need to avoid a
     singularity at 0.0.

 - Random: unsigned long int gsl_rng_uniform_int (const gsl_rng * R,
          unsigned long int N)
     This function returns a random integer from 0 to N-1 inclusive.
     All integers in the range [0,N-1] are equally likely, regardless
     of the generator used.  An offset correction is applied so that
     zero is always returned with the correct probability, for any
     minimum value of the underlying generator.

     If N is larger than the range of the generator then the function
     calls the error handler with an error code of `GSL_EINVAL' and
     returns zero.


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Auxiliary random number generator functions,  Next: Random number environment variables,  Prev: Sampling from a random number generator,  Up: Random Number Generation

Auxiliary random number generator functions
===========================================

   The following functions provide information about an existing
generator.  You should use them in preference to hard-coding the
generator parameters into your own code.

 - Random: const char * gsl_rng_name (const gsl_rng * R)
     This function returns a pointer to the name of the generator.  For
     example,

          printf("r is a '%s' generator\n",
                 gsl_rng_name (r));

     would print something like `r is a 'taus' generator'.

 - Random: unsigned long int gsl_rng_max (const gsl_rng * R)
     `gsl_rng_max' returns the largest value that `gsl_rng_get' can
     return.

 - Random: unsigned long int gsl_rng_min (const gsl_rng * R)
     `gsl_rng_min' returns the smallest value that `gsl_rng_get' can
     return.  Usually this value is zero.  There are some generators
     with algorithms that cannot return zero, and for these generators
     the minimum value is 1.

 - Random: void * gsl_rng_state (const gsl_rng * R)
 - Random: size_t gsl_rng_size (const gsl_rng * R)
     These function return a pointer to the state of generator R and
     its size.  You can use this information to access the state
     directly.  For example, the following code will write the state of
     a generator to a stream,

          void * state = gsl_rng_state (r);
          size_t n = gsl_rng_size (r);
          fwrite (state, n, 1, stream);

 - Random: const gsl_rng_type ** gsl_rng_types_setup (void)
     This function returns a pointer to an array of all the available
     generator types, terminated by a null pointer. The function should
     be called once at the start of the program, if needed.  The
     following code fragment shows how to iterate over the array of
     generator types to print the names of the available algorithms,

          const gsl_rng_type **t, **t0;
          
          t0 = gsl_rng_types_setup ();
          
          printf("Available generators:\n");
          
          for (t = t0; *t != 0; t++)
            {
              printf("%s\n", (*t)->name);
            }


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Random number environment variables,  Next: Saving and restoring random number generator state,  Prev: Auxiliary random number generator functions,  Up: Random Number Generation

Random number environment variables
===================================

   The library allows you to choose a default generator and seed from
the environment variables `GSL_RNG_TYPE' and `GSL_RNG_SEED' and the
function `gsl_rng_env_setup'.  This makes it easy try out different
generators and seeds without having to recompile your program.

 - Function: const gsl_rng_type * gsl_rng_env_setup (void)
     This function reads the environment variables `GSL_RNG_TYPE' and
     `GSL_RNG_SEED' and uses their values to set the corresponding
     library variables `gsl_rng_default' and `gsl_rng_default_seed'.
     These global variables are defined as follows,

          extern const gsl_rng_type *gsl_rng_default
          extern unsigned long int gsl_rng_default_seed

     The environment variable `GSL_RNG_TYPE' should be the name of a
     generator, such as `taus' or `mt19937'.  The environment variable
     `GSL_RNG_SEED' should contain the desired seed value.  It is
     converted to an `unsigned long int' using the C library function
     `strtoul'.

     If you don't specify a generator for `GSL_RNG_TYPE' then
     `gsl_rng_mt19937' is used as the default.  The initial value of
     `gsl_rng_default_seed' is zero.


Here is a short program which shows how to create a global generator
using the environment variables `GSL_RNG_TYPE' and `GSL_RNG_SEED',

     #include <stdio.h>
     #include <gsl/gsl_rng.h>
     
     gsl_rng * r;  /* global generator */
     
     int
     main (void)
     {
       const gsl_rng_type * T;
     
       gsl_rng_env_setup();
     
       T = gsl_rng_default;
       r = gsl_rng_alloc (T);
     
       printf("generator type: %s\n", gsl_rng_name (r));
       printf("seed = %u\n", gsl_rng_default_seed);
       printf("first value = %u\n", gsl_rng_get (r));
       return 0;
     }

Running the program without any environment variables uses the initial
defaults, an `mt19937' generator with a seed of 0,

     bash$ ./a.out
     generator type: mt19937
     seed = 0
     first value = 2867219139

By setting the two variables on the command line we can change the
default generator and the seed,

     bash$ GSL_RNG_TYPE="taus" GSL_RNG_SEED=123 ./a.out
     GSL_RNG_TYPE=taus
     GSL_RNG_SEED=123
     generator type: taus
     seed = 123
     first value = 2720986350


File: gsl-ref.info,  Node: Saving and restoring random number generator state,  Next: Random number generator algorithms,  Prev: Random number environment variables,  Up: Random Number Generation

Saving and restoring random number generator state
==================================================

   The above methods ignore the random number `state' which changes from
call to call.  It is often useful to be able to save and restore the
state.  To permit these practices, a few somewhat more advanced
functions are supplied.  These include:

 - Random: int gsl_rng_memcpy (gsl_rng * DEST, const gsl_rng * SRC)
     This function copies the random number generator SRC into the
     pre-existing generator DEST, making DEST into an exact copy of
     SRC.  The two generators must be of the same type.

 - Random: gsl_rng * gsl_rng_clone (const gsl_rng * R)
     This function returns a pointer to a newly created generator which
     is an exact copy of the generator R.

 - Random: void gsl_rng_print_state (const gsl_rng * R)
     This function prints a hex-dump of the state of the generator R to
     `stdout'.  At the moment its only use is for debugging.

