Random Engine Differences

Question

The C++11 standard specifies a number of different engines for random number generation: linear_congruential_engine, mersenne_twister_engine,

Answer 1

Its a trade-off really. A PRNG like Mersenne Twister is better because it has extremely large period and other good statistical properties.

But a large period PRNG takes up more memory (for maintaining the internal state) and also takes more time for generating a random number (due to complex transitions and post processing).

Choose a PNRG depending on the needs of your application. When in doubt use Mersenne Twister, its the default in many tools.