Using Random.org service

From fmepedia

RANDOM.ORG (http://random.org) is a true random number service that generates randomness via atmospheric noise.

FME already has a RandomNumberGenerator transformer, which generates random values. The problem is, it uses TCL rand() function, which generates pseudo-random values. Why is it bad? Here is what you can find at wiki.tcl.tk (http://wiki.tcl.tk/13120) about this function:

"Tcl's pseudo-random number generator highlights a weakness that applies to all pseudo-random number generators: it has to be initialized, or "seeded." The initial seed value fully determines the sequence of numbers that is generated. If the generator is seeded with the same value over and over, it will keep producing the same random numbers. Also, by design, it never produces the same number twice in a row -- unlike dice, which can come up with the same number many times in a row without being biased.

Tcl's random number generator is as bad as many, and worse than some, in that it only accepts a single 31 bit integer as a seed value. In other words, there are only 2^31 possible random number sequences, and they repeat after a period of 2^31 (in fact, numbers never repeat in less than this period)."

To give you a sense of true randomness, and also to show you an example of web services use within Workbench, we created a few transformers based on random.org service.

TrueRandomIntGenerator - generates truly random integers in configurable intervals. See also TrueRandomIntCreator.

SequenceGenerator - randomizes a given interval of integers, i.e., arrange them in random order. See also SequenceCreator.

TrueRandomStringGenerator - generates truly random strings of various length and character compositions. See also TrueRandomStringCreator.

PasswordGenerator - generates a random password and saves it into a PNG file.

Note that there is a quota system on RANDOM.ORG. By default, it's 1,000,000 bits. If you go to a negative balance, you have to wait until the balance is topped up (200,000 per day), or you can buy some randomness at very affordable rates starting from 10,000,000 bits for 10 dollars, and up to 600,000,000 for $150 (I never could imagine that randomness is something what you can sell or buy).