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rand

(PHP 4, PHP 5, PHP 7, PHP 8)

rand — Generate a random integer

Description

rand(): int
rand(int $min, int $max): int

If called without the optional min, max arguments rand() returns a pseudo-random integer between 0 and getrandmax(). If you want a random number between 5 and 15 (inclusive), for example, use rand(5, 15).

Caution

This function does not generate cryptographically secure values, and must not be used for cryptographic purposes, or purposes that require returned values to be unguessable.

If cryptographically secure randomness is required, the Random\Randomizer may be used with the Random\Engine\Secure engine. For simple use cases, the random_int() and random_bytes() functions provide a convenient and secure API that is backed by the operating system’s CSPRNG.

Caution

This function uses the global Mt19937 (“Mersenne Twister”) instance as the source of randomness and thus shares its state with all other functions using the global Mt19937. Using any of these functions advances the sequence for all the other functions, regardless of scope.

Generating repeatable sequences by seeding mt_srand() or srand() with a known value will also yield repeatable output from this function.

Prefer using Random\Randomizer methods in all newly written code.

Note: Prior to PHP 7.1.0, getrandmax() was only 32767 on some platforms (such as Windows). If you require a range larger than 32767, specifying min and max will allow you to create a range larger than this, or consider using mt_rand() instead.

Note: As of PHP 7.1.0, rand() uses the same random number generator as mt_rand(). To preserve backwards compatibility rand() allows max to be smaller than min as opposed to returning false as mt_rand().

Parameters

min

The lowest value to return (default: 0)

max

The highest value to return (default: getrandmax())

Return Values

A pseudo random value between min (or 0) and max (or getrandmax(), inclusive).

Changelog

Version Description
7.2.0 rand() has received a bug fix for a modulo bias bug. This means that sequences generated with a specific seed may differ from PHP 7.1 on 64-bit machines.
7.1.0 rand() has been made an alias of mt_rand().

Examples

Example #1 rand() example

<?php
echo rand(), "\n";
echo rand(), "\n";

echo rand(5, 15), "\n";
?>

The above example will output something similar to:

7771
22264
11

Notes

Warning

min max range must be within the range getrandmax(). i.e. abs(max - min) <= getrandmax(). Otherwise, rand() may return poor-quality random numbers.

See Also