Analogue-sequencer

Tom, 

> Just a little thing ... How random is the random function of 
> the p3. I 
> explain : if let the P3 play for a long time, will i finally 
> have a pattern?

Well, you had to ask...

The random number generation in the P3 is, like all programmatically
generated random numbers, really a pseudo-random sequence - a predictable
sequence of numbers which has many of the statistical properties of a random
sequence.
A maximal length linear feedback shift register is used to generate a
pseudo-random bit stream.
Every P3 will ultimately generate the same sequence of bits, but each starts
at a different position in that sequence.
The start position is determined by the random state of the bits in the SRAM
chips the first time you power your P3 up, or after a backup battery
replacement.
The length of the sequence is 2 to the power 64, minus 1. But since the
sequence is of single bits, eight iterations are needed to generate a random
byte.
If you generated a pseudo-random number with P3 one hundred times every
second, after seven hundred and thirty million years, you might notice the
pattern repeating.

Cheers,
Colin f