This is the archived version of this course from the Spring 2013 semester. You might find something more recent by visitning my teaching page.
Recall from data structures class that a hash function \(h(x)\) takes some input integer \(0 \le x \lt m\) and produces an output in the range \(0 \le h(x) \lt n\), for some integers m and n (usually m is much larger than n).
A hash function is definitely not random: if you give it the same input, it must always produce the same output. But a good hash function is said to "appear random" in that there is no discernible relationship between the input and the output.
Describe how a hash function \(h(x)\) as defined above could be used to create a PRNG. What would the parameters of the PRNG be? Do you think this would be a good way to generate pseudo-random numbers?