Random and whrandom

[Tim Peters]

[posted & mailed]

[Alex Martelli]
> ...
> before this 'deprecation' is done, though, I dearly hope
> checkpoint/restart needs will be considered in the abstract
> RNG interface.

FYI, I just checked in changes to random.py to supply getstate()/setstate()
methods.  While it wasn't documented, it turns out that-- via reliable
accident --you could checkpoint/restart the old whrandom just by pickling
and unpickling its hidden "_inst" vrbl.  Wasn't enough for random.py,
though, as that was also hiding state in module globals.  The reworked
random.py makes everything a method of a new (but usually invisible) Random
class, and its getstate()/setstate() methods save/restore all the state
(&also arranges for pickles to work reliably too).

yet-another-reason-to-hunger-for-2.1a2-ly y'rs  - tim