Random Number Generators#

oneAPI DPC++ Library (oneDPL) offers support of random number generation, including:

  • Random number engines, which generate unsigned integer sequences of random numbers.

  • Random number distributions (example: uniform_real_distribution), which converts the output of random number engines into various statistical distributions.

Random Number Engines#

Random number engines use seed data as an entropy source to generate pseudo-random numbers. oneDPL provides several class templates for customizable engines, defined in the header <oneapi/dpl/random> under the oneapi::dpl:: namespace.

Engine

Description

linear_congruential_engine

Implements a linear congruential algorithm

subtract_with_carry_engine

Implements a subtract-with-carry algorithm

discard_block_engine

Implements a discard block adaptor

experimental::philox_engine

Implements a Philox algorithm

Predefined Random Number Engines#

Predefined random number engines are instantiations of the random number engines class templates with selected engine parameters.

The types below are defined in the header <oneapi/dpl/random> in the same namespaces as their respective class templates.

Type

Description

minstd_rand0

oneapi::dpl::linear_congruential_engine<std::uint32_t, 16807, 0, 2147483647>

minstd_rand

oneapi::dpl::linear_congruential_engine<std::uint32_t, 48271, 0, 2147483647>

ranlux24_base

oneapi::dpl::subtract_with_carry_engine<std::uint32_t, 24, 10, 24>

ranlux48_base

oneapi::dpl::subtract_with_carry_engine<std::uint64_t, 48, 5, 12>

ranlux24

oneapi::dpl::discard_block_engine<ranlux24_base, 223, 23>

ranlux48

oneapi::dpl::discard_block_engine<ranlux48_base, 389, 11>

philox4x32

oneapi::dpl::experimental::philox_engine<std::uint_fast32_t, 32, 4, 10, 0xCD9E8D57, 0x9E3779B9, 0xD2511F53, 0xBB67AE85>

philox4x64

oneapi::dpl::experimental::philox_engine<std::uint_fast64_t, 64, 4, 10, 0xCA5A826395121157, 0x9E3779B97F4A7C15, 0xD2E7470EE14C6C93, 0xBB67AE8584CAA73B>

The following predefined engines can efficiently generate vectors of random numbers. They differ from the scalar engines above by using sycl::vec<T, N> as the data type, while other engine parameters remain the same.

Type

Description

template<std::int32_t N> minstd_rand0_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::linear_congruential_engine<sycl::vec<std::uint32_t, N>, 16807, 0, 2147483647>

minstd_rand0 that generates a vector.

template<std::int32_t N> minstd_rand_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::linear_congruential_engine<sycl::vec<std::uint32_t, N>, 48271, 0, 2147483647>

minstd_rand that generates a vector.

template<std::int32_t N> ranlux24_base_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::subtract_with_carry_engine<sycl::vec<std::uint32_t, N>, 24, 10, 24>

ranlux24_base that generates a vector.

template<std::int32_t N> ranlux48_base_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::subtract_with_carry_engine<sycl::vec<std::uint64_t, N>, 48, 5, 12>

ranlux48_base that generates a vector.

template<std::int32_t N> ranlux24_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::discard_block_engine<ranlux24_base_vec<N>, 223, 23>

ranlux24 that generates a vector.

template<std::int32_t N> ranlux48_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::discard_block_engine<ranlux48_base_vec<N>, 389, 11>

ranlux48 that generates a vector.

template<std::int32_t N> philox4x32_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::experimental::philox_engine<sycl::vec<std::uint_fast32_t, N>, 32, 4, 10, 0xCD9E8D57, 0x9E3779B9, 0xD2511F53, 0xBB67AE85>

philox4x32 that generates a vector.

template<std::int32_t N> philox4x64_vec<N>

oneapi::dpl::experimental::philox_engine<sycl::vec<std::uint_fast64_t, N>, 64, 4, 10, 0xCA5A826395121157, 0x9E3779B97F4A7C15, 0xD2E7470EE14C6C93, 0xBB67AE8584CAA73B>

philox4x64 that generates a vector.

Random Number Distributions#

Random number distributions process the output of random number engines in such a way that the resulting output is distributed according to a defined statistical probability density function. They are defined in the header <oneapi/dpl/random> under the oneapi::dpl:: namespace.

Distribution

Description

uniform_int_distribution

Produces integer values evenly distributed across a range

uniform_real_distribution

Produces real values evenly distributed across a range

normal_distribution

Produces real values according to the Normal (Gaussian) distribution

exponential_distribution

Produces real values according to the Exponential distribution

bernoulli_distribution

Produces bool values according to the Bernoulli distribution

geometric_distribution

Produces integer values according to the Geometric distribution

weibull_distribution

Produces real values according to the Weibull distribution

lognormal_distribution

Produces real values according to the Lognormal distribution

extreme_value_distribution

Produces real values according to the Extreme value (Gumbel) distribution

cauchy_distribution

Produces real values according to the Cauchy distribution

Note

bernoulli_distribution, geometric_distribution, and uniform_int_distribution can only be used on devices with FP64 support as they rely on double precision in their implementation (use sycl::aspect::fp64 to check if the device supports FP64).

Usage Model of oneDPL Random Number Generation Functionality#

Random number generation is available for SYCL* device-side and host-side code. For example:

#include <oneapi/dpl/random>
#include <sycl/sycl.hpp>
#include <iostream>
#include <vector>

int main() {
    sycl::queue queue(sycl::default_selector_v);

    std::int64_t nsamples = 100;
    std::uint32_t seed = 777;
    std::vector<float> x(nsamples);
    {
        sycl::buffer<float, 1> x_buf(x.data(), sycl::range<1>(x.size()));

        queue.submit([&] (sycl::handler &cgh) {

            auto x_acc =
            x_buf.template get_access<sycl::access::mode::write>(cgh);

            cgh.parallel_for<class count_kernel>(sycl::range<1>(nsamples),
                [=](sycl::item<1> idx) {
                std::uint64_t offset = idx.get_linear_id();

                // Create minstd_rand engine
                oneapi::dpl::minstd_rand engine(seed, offset);

                // Create float uniform_real_distribution distribution
                oneapi::dpl::uniform_real_distribution<float> distr;

                // Generate float random number
                auto res = distr(engine);

                // Store results to x_acc
                x_acc[idx] = res;
            });
        });
    }

    std::cout << "\nFirst 5 samples of minstd_rand with scalar generation" << std::endl;
    for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        std::cout << x.begin()[i] << std::endl;
    }

    std::cout << "\nLast 5 samples of minstd_rand with scalar generation" << std::endl;
    for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        std::cout << x.rbegin()[i] << std::endl;
    }
    return 0;
}