topic Re: What do I have to write inside Ranuni function? in SAS Programming

What do I have to write inside Ranuni function?

wV17 — Sun, 11 Jun 2017 07:11:19 GMT

Hi, I have been studying RANUNI function and I don't understand why sometimes people uses it with this expression: int(RANUNI(36830)*n) .

What does the number inside of the function mean and why is it sometimes multiplied with "n"?

Thanks

Jagadishkatam — Sun, 11 Jun 2017 07:55:05 GMT

PeterClemmensen — Sun, 11 Jun 2017 07:55:23 GMT

The number is called the random number seed. The seed value controls the sequence of random numbers. See this article

Rick_SAS — Sun, 11 Jun 2017 10:56:30 GMT

But you should be aware that the RAND function is the preferred way to generate random numbers. See "Six reasons you should stop using the RANUNI function to generate random numbers" Item #3 addresses your question.

art297 — Sun, 11 Jun 2017 13:01:12 GMT

I see that you've already got half your answer .. so here is the other half. The *n is there to get a number between 1 and n.

A more general way to specify it is: x=min + floor((1 + max - min) * rand("uniform"))

That way you can select a random number between min and max.

Also, if you use a seed of zero, SAS will use time of day to select which "table" to use.

Art, CEO, AnalystFinder.com

Rick_SAS — Mon, 12 Jun 2017 00:51:25 GMT

It looks like you are trying to generate a random integer in the range [a,b].