php man page for mt_rand

MT_RAND(3)								 1								MT_RAND(3)

mt_rand - Generate a better random value

SYNOPSIS
       int mt_rand (void  )

DESCRIPTION
       int mt_rand (int  $min, int  $max)

	Many  random  number  generators of older libcs have dubious or unknown characteristics and are slow. By default, PHP uses the libc random
       number generator with the rand(3) function. The mt_rand(3) function is a drop-in replacement for this. It uses a  random  number  generator
       with  known  characteristics  using  the   Mersenne Twister, which will produce random numbers four times faster than what the average libc
       rand() provides.

	If called without the optional $min, $max arguments mt_rand(3) returns a pseudo-random value between 0 and mt_getrandmax(3). If you want a
       random number between 5 and 15 (inclusive), for example, use mt_rand(5, 15).

       Caution

	      This  function  does  not generate cryptographically secure values, and should not be used for cryptographic purposes. If you need a
	      cryptographically secure value, consider using random_int(3), random_bytes(3), or openssl_random_pseudo_bytes(3) instead.

PARAMETERS
	      o $min
		- Optional lowest value to be returned (default: 0)

	      o $max
		- Optional highest value to be returned (default: mt_getrandmax(3))

RETURN VALUES
	A random integer value between $min (or 0) and $max (or mt_getrandmax(3), inclusive), or FALSE if $max is less than $min.

CHANGELOG
       +--------+---------------------------------------------------+
       |Version |						    |
       |	|						    |
       |	|		     Description		    |
       |	|						    |
       +--------+---------------------------------------------------+
       | 5.3.4	|						    |
       |	|						    |
       |	|  Issues an E_WARNING and returns FALSE if $max  < |
       |	| $min. 					    |
       |	|						    |
       +--------+---------------------------------------------------+
EXAMPLES
       Example #1

	      mt_rand(3) example

	      <?php
	      echo mt_rand() . "
";
	      echo mt_rand() . "
";

	      echo mt_rand(5, 15);
	      ?>

	      The above example will output something similar to:

	      1604716014
	      1478613278
	      6

NOTES
       Caution

	       The  distribution of mt_rand(3) return values is biased towards even numbers on 64-bit builds of PHP when $max is beyond 2^32. This
	      is because if $max is greater than the value returned by mt_getrandmax(3), the output of the random number generator must be  scaled
	      up.

SEE ALSO
       mt_srand(3), mt_getrandmax(3), random_int(3), random_bytes(3), openssl_random_pseudo_bytes(3), rand(3).

PHP Documentation Group 														MT_RAND(3)