The documentation for Elm\'s Random
module states:
A good way to get an unexpected seed is to use the current time. http://package.elm-
I reworked the third example from @Apanatshka above, trying to get to simpler code that feels more like the standard architecture, at least as seen in Mike Clark's training videos, and runs under Elm 0.16. Here is the refactored version I came up with:
module PortBasedRandom where
import Mouse
import Signal exposing (Signal, map)
import Random exposing (Seed)
import Graphics.Element exposing (Element, show)
port primer : Float
firstSeed : Seed
firstSeed =
Random.initialSeed <| round primer
type alias Model =
{ nextSeed : Seed
, currentInt : Int
}
initialModel : Model
initialModel =
{ nextSeed = firstSeed
, currentInt = 0
}
randomInt : Model -> Model
randomInt model =
let
(i, s) = Random.generate (Random.int 1 10) model.nextSeed
in
{ model | nextSeed = s, currentInt = i }
update : (Int, Int) -> Model -> Model
update (_, _) model =
randomInt model
main : Signal Element
main =
Signal.foldp update initialModel Mouse.position
|> map (\m -> show m.currentInt)
This needs special help in the HTML file, so here's a file containing two examples:
<html>
<head>
<title></title>
<script src="port_based_random.js"></script>
</head>
<body>
<p>Move your mouse to generate new random numbers between 1 and 10 inclusive.</p>
<script>Elm.fullscreen(Elm.PortBasedRandom, {primer: Date.now()})</script>
<script>Elm.fullscreen(Elm.PortBasedRandom, {primer: Math.floor((Math.random() - 0.5) * 4294967295)})</script>
</body>
</html>
Just an update for people who got here from Google like I did: the recommended way to do this now is with flags
instead of ports
. The code in the other answers will not even compile now.
https://guide.elm-lang.org/interop/javascript.html
HTML
<script>
var app = Elm.Main.fullscreen({myRandomValue: Date.now()});
</script>
Elm
type alias Model = {
mySeed : String
}
type alias Flags = {
myRandomValue : String
}
init : Flags -> ( Model, Cmd Msg )
init flags =
{
mySeed = flags.myRandomValue
}
...
main : Program Flags Model Msg
main = programWithFlags
{
view = view,
init = init,
update = update
}
There are different ways to do this. Each has it's own benefits. I'll give you the three that I know with a similar example for each.
One thing you could do is add time to the inputs of your program. An example of a tiny program using the current time every second for a random number:
import Time
import Time (Time, second)
import Text (asText)
import Mouse
import Signal
import Signal (Signal, (<~), (~))
import Random
import Random (Seed)
import Graphics.Element (Element)
randomInt : Seed -> Int
randomInt seed = seed |> (Random.generate <| Random.int 1 10) |> fst
otherInput : Signal (Int,Int)
otherInput = Mouse.position
timeSeed : Signal Seed
timeSeed = Random.initialSeed << round <~ Time.every second
inputs : Signal (Seed,(Int,Int))
inputs = (,) <~ timeSeed ~ otherInput
update : (Seed, (Int,Int)) -> (Int,Int) -> (Int,Int)
update (seed,(x,y)) (x',y') =
let num = randomInt seed
in (x-x'-num,y'-y+num) -- this update function is nonsense
main : Signal Element
main = asText <~ Signal.foldp update (0,0) inputs
If you need time as an input anyway, and sample your other inputs based on this time, it's the easiest way. (If you already use Time.fps for this, use Time.timestamp to get the actual time with it)
If you don't normally need time as an input to your program, the previous solution is not ideal. You may prefer to initialise your program state with the start time of the program and not have to ignore a time ticker for the rest of the time the program runs.
It's probably easiest to do this with the signal-extra package*. Use Signal.Time.startTime to get a signal that doesn't tick but only has the start time of the program as the initial value. Use Signal.Extra.foldp' so you can use the initial value of your inputs.
import Time
import Time (Time, second)
import Text (asText)
import Mouse
import Signal
import Signal (Signal, (<~), (~))
import Random
import Random (Seed)
import Graphics.Element (Element)
import Signal.Extra as SignalE
import Signal.Time as Time
randomInt : Seed -> (Int,Seed)
randomInt seed = (Random.generate <| Random.int 1 10) |> fst
otherInput : Signal (Int,Int)
otherInput = Mouse.position
startTimeSeed : Signal Seed
startTimeSeed = Random.initialSeed << round <~ Time.startTime
inputs : Signal (Seed,(Int,Int))
inputs = (,) <~ startTimeSeed ~ otherInput
update (x,y) (seed,(x',y')) =
let (num,seed') = randomInt seed
in (seed',(x-x'-num,y'-y+num))
main : Signal Element
main = asText <~ SignalE.foldp' (snd >> update) identity inputs
*I may be biased because I'm the author of the linked package. But I don't know of other packages offering the same functionality.
If you find the previous solution unsatisfactory, because you have this not-changing Signal
to add to your input, this solution is for you. Here we use JavaScript interop to get the program startup time, and Elm will accept it as a constant value (no Signal
). The Elm code looks like so:
import Time
import Time (Time, second)
import Text (asText)
import Mouse
import Signal (Signal, (<~))
import Random
import Random (Seed)
import Graphics.Element (Element)
port startTime : Float
randomInt : Seed -> (Int,Seed)
randomInt seed = (Random.generate <| Random.int 1 10) |> fst
startTimeSeed : Seed
startTimeSeed = Random.initialSeed <| round startTime
update (x,y) (seed,(x',y')) =
let (num,seed') = randomInt seed
in (seed',(x-x'-num,y'-y+num))
main : Signal Element
main = asText <~ Signal.foldp update (startTimeSeed, (0,0)) Mouse.position
So what's the downside here? You need to write some JavaScript. Instead of the standard
<script>Elm.fullscreen(Elm.<YourModule>)</script>
, you need something like this in your html file:
<script>Elm.fullscreen(Elm.<YourModule>, {startTime: Date.now()})</script>
If you choose this way, perhaps it's a good idea to use a random number from JavaScript as your initial seed. I've read that that's more cryptographically secure (disclaimer: I don't know much about crypto). So you'd have a port aRandomNumber : Int
and {aRandomNumber: Math.floor((Math.random() - 0.5) * 4294967295)}
.
If you are using the StartApp then you'll need to use a custom HTML file with
<script type="text/javascript">
var yourPgm = Elm.fullscreen(Elm.Main, {startTime: Date.now()});
</script>
Then to use the startTime as a seed:
startTimeSeed : Seed
startTimeSeed = Random.initialSeed <| round startTime
app =
StartApp.start
{ init = (init startTimeSeed, Effects.none)
, update = update
, view = view
, inputs = []
}
And then in the code you'll be doing something like
init : Seed -> List Int
init seed = fst <| Random.generate intList seed
where, for example:
intList : Random.Generator (List Int)
intList =
Random.list 5 (Random.int 0 100)