[jira] Created: (RIVER-352) com.sun.jini.test.share.TxnTestUtils misuses java.util.Random

["Patricia Shanahan (JIRA)" <ji...@apache.org>]

com.sun.jini.test.share.TxnTestUtils misuses java.util.Random
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                 Key: RIVER-352
                 URL: https://issues.apache.org/jira/browse/RIVER-352
             Project: River
          Issue Type: Test
          Components: other
         Environment: Any
            Reporter: Patricia Shanahan
            Priority: Trivial


In the static method chooseOne, com.sun.jini.test.share.TxnTestUtils creates a java.util.Random for a single use, without reporting the seed or providing any way to set the seed.

Creating a lot of Random instances has no guarantees of statistical properties - all that can be promised is that the seed is very likely to be different. Nothing is said about its distribution.

Unless the seed is reported and can be set, preferably through a configuration parameter, it is impossible to arrange for repeated tests using the same random number sequence. See com.sun.jini.test.impl.mahalo.RandomStressTest, field "random", for correct handling of this issue.

As an alternative to having its own seed configuration parameter, TxnTestUtils could require its caller to supply a Random.


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