Core Java

Add Some Entropy to Your JVM

Being able to generate true random numbers depends on the entropy in your system. Some claim, that this can be guaranteed by fair dice roll. Others think that replacing the OpenJDK’s java.math.Random.nextInt() method with this body will help:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

public int nextInt() {
  return 14;
}

But that’s absurd. We all know that the best way to add true entropy to the JVM is by rewriting the java.lang.Integer.IntegerCache when your JVM starts up. Here’s the code:

import java.lang.reflect.Field;
import java.util.Random;

public class Entropy {
  public static void main(String[] args) 
  throws Exception {

    // Extract the IntegerCache through reflection
    Class<?> clazz = Class.forName(
      "java.lang.Integer$IntegerCache");
    Field field = clazz.getDeclaredField("cache");
    field.setAccessible(true);
    Integer[] cache = (Integer[]) field.get(clazz);

    // Rewrite the Integer cache
    for (int i = 0; i < cache.length; i++) {
      cache[i] = new Integer(
        new Random().nextInt(cache.length));
    }

    // Prove randomness
    for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
      System.out.println((Integer) i);
    }
  }
}

When I last tried, the above printed

92
221
45
48
236
183
39
193
33
84

Don’t believe it? Try it on your application! By trying this on your application, you agree to the following licensing terms:

Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software distributed under the License is distributed on an “AS IS” BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.

 

Reference: Add Some Entropy to Your JVM from our JCG partner Lukas Eder at the JAVA, SQL, AND JOOQ blog.

Lukas Eder

Lukas is a Java and SQL enthusiast developer. He created the Data Geekery GmbH. He is the creator of jOOQ, a comprehensive SQL library for Java, and he is blogging mostly about these three topics: Java, SQL and jOOQ.
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