SeedGenerator (BetterRandom 5.0.1-SNAPSHOT API)

All Superinterfaces:

Serializable

All Known Implementing Classes:

BufferedSeedGenerator, DefaultSeedGenerator, DevRandomSeedGenerator, RandomDotOrgSeedGenerator, SecureRandomSeedGenerator, SeedGeneratorPreferenceList
```
public interface SeedGenerator
extends Serializable
```
Strategy interface for seeding random number generators. Implementations that can have multiple equivalent instances that contend for a resource should implement Object.equals(Object) and Object.hashCode() to help with de-duplication of SimpleRandomSeeder instances.

Author:

Daniel Dyer, Chris Hennick

Field Summary

Fields
Modifier and Type Field Description

static byte[] EMPTY_SEED
An empty byte array.

Method Summary

All Methods Instance Methods Abstract Methods
Modifier and Type	Method	Description
`void`	`generateSeed(byte[] output)`	Generates a seed value for a random number generator in an existing array.
`byte[]`	`generateSeed(int length)`	Generates and returns a seed value for a random number generator as a new array.
`boolean`	`isWorthTrying()`	Returns true if we cannot determine quickly (i.e.

- Field Detail
  - EMPTY_SEED
```
static final byte[] EMPTY_SEED
```
    An empty byte array.
- Method Detail
  - generateSeed
```
void generateSeed(byte[] output)
           throws SeedException
```
    Generates a seed value for a random number generator in an existing array.
    
    Parameters:
    
    output - The array that is to be populated with the seed.
    
    Throws:
    
    SeedException - If a seed cannot be generated for any reason.
  - generateSeed
```
byte[] generateSeed(int length)
             throws SeedException
```
    Generates and returns a seed value for a random number generator as a new array.
    
    Parameters:
    
    length - The length of the seed to generate (in bytes).
    
    Returns:
    
    A byte array containing the seed data.
    
    Throws:
    
    SeedException - If a seed cannot be generated for any reason.
  - isWorthTrying
```
boolean isWorthTrying()
```
    Returns true if we cannot determine quickly (i.e. without I/O calls) that this SeedGenerator would throw a SeedException if generateSeed(int) or generateSeed(byte[]) were being called right now.
    
    Returns:
    
    true if this SeedGenerator will get as far as an I/O call or other slow operation in attempting to generate a seed immediately.