The rand() function is STACK’s implementation of Maxima’s random() function. Random variables are zero-numbered. You may need to use simplification to reduce the output to a single value.
x:rand(5); /* pick a random number between 0 and 4 */ y:ev(rand(5)+1,simp); /* pick a random number between 1 and 5 */
NB: if the simplification is off then the result of y would be 4+1
The rand() function in STACK also picks from a list:
x:rand([a,b,c,d]); /* pick a random item from a list.
This list shows lower case letters */
y:ev((rand(5)+1)*rand([1,-1]),simp); /* pick a random positive or negative
number between 1 and 5 */
You can apply this behaviour of the rand() function to any list object. For example
w:makelist(x,x,1,10); /* make a list of integers between 1 and 10 */
x:makelist(2^x,x,1,8); /* make a list of powers of 2 from 2^1 to 2^8 */
y:primes(2,30); /* use the primes() function to generate a
prime number between 2 and 30. */
z:map(fib,makelist(x,x,1,10)); /* use the map() and fib() functions to make a
list of the first 10 Fibonacci numbers */
NB: not all Maxima functions are allowed in STACK, but they can be enabled by MSD LT team if needed.