Algorithm B from Knuth’s The Art of Computer Programming, Volume 2. Implements a shuffle algorithm that wraps the minstd_rand0 linear congruential generator with a 256-entry table to improve randomness by breaking sequential correlations. Used in C++ standard library as shuffle_order_engine<minstd_rand0, 256>.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Category | Random Number Generators |
| Sub-category | Shuffle Algorithm |
| Security status | 🎓 Educational Only |
| Complexity | Intermediate |
| Inventor | Donald Knuth |
| Year | 1969 |
| Origin | 🇺🇸 United States |
| Source | algorithms/random/knuth-b.js |
| Parameter | Supported values |
|---|---|
| Seed sizes | 4 bytes (32 bits) |
| Flag | Value |
|---|---|
IsDeterministic |
Yes |
IsCryptographicallySecure |
No |
Status: 🎓 Educational Only
No vulnerabilities are recorded for this implementation.
3 vectors ship with this algorithm and run in the test suite. Byte values are hexadecimal.
Vector 1 — C++ std::knuth_b with seed=1, first 10 values
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
seed |
00000001 |
outputSize |
40 |
input |
null |
expected |
09189c643113c3982278fd06795056c4 3bd814d710b1d72c061351336a5d128c 38532fd146fc9a81 |
Vector 2 — C++ std::knuth_b canonical test: 10,000th value from seed=1 = 1112339016
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
seed |
00000001 |
count |
10000 |
outputSize |
4 |
input |
null |
expected |
424cf248 |
Vector 3 — C++ std::knuth_b with seed=123456789, first 5 values
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
seed |
075bcd15 |
outputSize |
20 |
input |
null |
expected |
704f3a22744474f72de9c635557bd4a46c9e4484 |