numpy.random.SeedSequence

class numpy.random.SeedSequence(entropy=None, *, spawn_key=(), pool_size=4)

SeedSequence mixes sources of entropy in a reproducible way to set the initial state for independent and very probably non-overlapping BitGenerators.

Once the SeedSequence is instantiated, you can call the generate_state method to get an appropriately sized seed. Calling spawn(n) will create n SeedSequences that can be used to seed independent BitGenerators, i.e. for different threads.

Parameters

entropy{None, int, sequence[int]}, optional

The entropy for creating a SeedSequence.

spawn_key{(), sequence[int]}, optional

A third source of entropy, used internally when calling SeedSequence.spawn

pool_size{int}, optional

Size of the pooled entropy to store. Default is 4 to give a 128-bit entropy pool. 8 (for 256 bits) is another reasonable choice if working with larger PRNGs, but there is very little to be gained by selecting another value.

n_children_spawned{int}, optional

The number of children already spawned. Only pass this if reconstructing a SeedSequence from a serialized form.

Notes

Best practice for achieving reproducible bit streams is to use the default None for the initial entropy, and then use SeedSequence.entropy to log/pickle the entropy for reproducibility:

>>> sq1 = np.random.SeedSequence()
>>> sq1.entropy
243799254704924441050048792905230269161  # random
>>> sq2 = np.random.SeedSequence(sq1.entropy)
>>> np.all(sq1.generate_state(10) == sq2.generate_state(10))
True

Attributes

entropy

n_children_spawned

pool

pool_size

spawn_key

state

Methods

generate_state(n_words[, dtype])	Return the requested number of words for PRNG seeding.
spawn(n_children)	Spawn a number of child SeedSequence s by extending the spawn_key.