randomstate.prng.pcg64.advance

randomstate.prng.pcg64.advance(delta)

Advance the underlying PRNG as-if delta draws have occurred.

Parameters:delta (integer, positive) – Number of draws to advance the PRNG. Must be less than the size state variable in the underlying PRNG.
Returns:out – Returns ‘None’ on success.
Return type:None

Notes

Advancing a PRNG updates the underlying PRNG state as-if a given number of calls to the underlying PRNG have been made. In general there is not a one-to-one relationship between the number output random values from a particular distribution and the number of draws from the core PRNG. This occurs for two reasons:

  • The random values are simulated using a rejection-based method and so, on average, more than one value from the underlying PRNG is required to generate an single draw.
  • The number of bits required to generate a simulated value differs from the number of bits generated by the underlying PRNG. For example, two 16-bit integer values can be simulated from a single draw of a 32-bit PRNG.

Advancing the PRNG state resets any pre-computed random numbers. This is required to ensure exact reproducibility.