std::exponential_distribution

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Pseudo-random number generation
Engines and engine adaptors
Generators
(C++11)
Distributions
Uniform distributions
Bernoulli distributions
Poisson distributions
exponential_distribution
(C++11)
Normal distributions
Sampling distributions
Seed Sequences
(C++11)
C library
 
 
Defined in header <random>
template< class RealType = double >
class exponential_distribution;
(since C++11)

Produces random non-negative floating-point values x, distributed according to probability density function:

P(x|λ) = λe-λx

The value obtained is the time/distance until the next random event if random events occur at constant rate λ per unit of time/distance. For example, this distribution describes the time between the clicks of a Geiger counter or the distance between point mutations in a DNA strand.

This is the continuous counterpart of std::geometric_distribution

Contents

[edit] Member types

Member type Definition
result_type RealType
param_type the type of the parameter set, unspecified

[edit] Member functions

constructs new distribution
(public member function)
resets the internal state of the distribution
(public member function)
Generation
generates the next random number in the distribution
(public member function)
Characteristics
returns the lambda distribution parameter (rate of events)
(public member function)
gets or sets the distribution parameter object
(public member function)
returns the minimum potentially generated value
(public member function)
returns the maximum potentially generated value
(public member function)

[edit] Non-member functions

compares two distribution objects
(function)
performs stream input and output on pseudo-random number distribution
(function)

[edit] Example

#include <iostream>
#include <iomanip>
#include <string>
#include <map>
#include <random>
int main()
{
    std::random_device rd;
    std::mt19937 gen(rd());
 
    // if particles decay once per second on average,
    // how much time, in seconds, until the next one?
    std::exponential_distribution<> d(1);
 
    std::map<int, int> hist;
    for(int n=0; n<10000; ++n) {
        ++hist[2*d(gen)];
    }
    for(auto p : hist) {
        std::cout << std::fixed << std::setprecision(1) 
                  << p.first/2.0 << '-' << (p.first+1)/2.0 <<
                ' ' << std::string(p.second/200, '*') << '\n';
    }
}

Possible output:

0.0-0.5 *******************
0.5-1.0 ***********
1.0-1.5 *******
1.5-2.0 ****
2.0-2.5 **
2.5-3.0 *
3.0-3.5 
3.5-4.0

[edit] External links

Weisstein, Eric W. "Exponential Distribution." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource.