Difference between true & pseudo random numbers

Question

I recently heard that in Linux, /dev/random and /dev/urandom are pseudo random number generators but not true random number generator.

So I am curious to know the difference between pseudo & true random number? In other words What is the difference between pseudo-randomness & true-randomness?

This could largely be answered by a Google search. Do you have a more specific question about this related to computational science? — horchler, Mar 25 '16 at 15:07
@horchler If this question is more suitable on other (SE) site (example-Unix & Linux) then tell/suggest me — Pandya, Mar 29 '16 at 05:09

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Mar 26 '16 at 22:19

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Most random numbers are in fact pseudo-random: they use a seed that is fed to a perfectly deterministic algorithm which can then generate series of numbers which are periodic but with a very large and complicated period so they usually appear random.

This has drawbacks of course since it's not really random, but also advantages, among which is reproducibility: if you store the seed, using this seed again will give you the exact same list of "random" numbers...

Here are a few links as well as another to a source of real random numbers

answered Mar 26 '16 at 22:19

Silmathoron

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Conversely, for certain applications (generation of cryptographic keys, picking winning lottery numbers, etc.) it's very important that the output of a random number generator be unpredictable. In cryptographic applications it's common to combine actual physically random numbers with a pseudorandom number generator to produce unpredicatable output. – Brian Borchers Apr 26 '16 at 02:24

Difference between true & pseudo random numbers

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