[Python-Dev] a note in random.shuffle.__doc__ ...

[Greg Ewing]

Robert Kern wrote:

> OTOH, isn't the exact PRNG algorithm considered an implementation detail?

It's questionable whether the PRNG being used *should* be
an implementation detail. To anyone who cares even a little
bit about its quality, knowing the algorithm (or at least
some info about it, such as the period) is vital.

PRNGs are not like sorting algorithms, where different
ones all give the same result in the end. Different PRNGs
have *wildly* different characteristics.

--
Greg