I agree that in many cases a much simpler API would suffice, but it strikes me as odd to suggest adding a convenient but insufficient-for-security API to the same standard library that protects HashMap against DoS.
The request here is for a simpler API. I and many others would be more than happy to get a function that returns a random u64. No traits, no crippling commitments to a specific API design.
But the std hashmap implementation[0] already depends on a PRNG via the rand crate[1], and thus OS random (for the initial seed). So it's in the standard library even if you can't use it directly. Which is what makes me think this is an API issue, not an implementation one.
It does depend on this yes, but the random seed isn’t part of the public API. An RNG API in std would need to pick an algorithm and make that part of its stability guarantees.
In this case I'd quibble that it wouldn't need to guarantee a specific algorithm, just a minimal set of properties. If the user can't manually set the seed then they'll be no expectation that it's deterministic or follows any particular algorithm. So the precise implementation can change with versions or even platforms.
Javascript's Math.random and Crypto.getRandomValues works this way.
Which is fine. Not everything needs SecureRandom. I'd wager more code using random numbers is for A/B tests, sample data generation or video games than people implementing crypto.
I get that security people don't want non-secure RNGs to exist out of fear that someone might try implement security related functions out of them but why should I care if I just want to choose between 3 types of enemies this wave?
No worries, it was read with offense I didn't take. I agree, designing a good random number API is in fact hard. I just think we can give developers a better out-of-the-box experience.
Having a very simple API is not at odds with security, though. A simple API could automatically seed from the OS and then run a tiny loop with sha2 or sha3, for example.
SHA2 is not designed to be used as a RNG. SHA3 might be a little bit better with its "streaming" modes, but there are many far better and faster ways to get random bits.
2. You definitely don't want your std to be designed with a simple API to a fast, secure, and popular crypto primitive? Pretend I named your favorite one, to avoid bikeshedding issues.
