Comparing random number generators in Rust
Blog post from LogRocket
Randomness plays a crucial role in web development and various aspects of life, including cryptocurrencies, banking systems, and cryptographic operations, ensuring unpredictability and security. In Rust, several random number generator crates are available, each with unique features and use cases. The most popular among them is Rand, which uses the ChaCha block cipher algorithm for generating cryptographically secure pseudorandom numbers and offers deterministic and non-deterministic random number generation. Fastrand, another option, is known for its speed and simplicity but lacks cryptographic security, making it less suitable for secure applications. Nanorand offers a lightweight solution with multiple algorithms, balancing speed and security, though its community support is limited. Oorandom is a compact choice utilizing a permuted congruential generator, suitable for projects with space constraints, though it is not cryptographically secure. These generators provide diverse functionalities for Rust developers, from shuffling arrays to generating random numbers from specific ranges, catering to both secure and non-secure applications.