Created utils/random-numgen package, an alternative to $RANDOM

[ilario]

Maintainer: me / @ilario
Compile tested: OpenWrt 22.03 and OpenWrt 19.07, YouHua WR1200JS
Run tested: OpenWrt 22.03 and OpenWrt 19.07, YouHua WR1200JS

Description:
By default, the $RANDOM shell variable is not available as Busybox does not have the BUSYBOX_CONFIG_ASH_RANDOM_SUPPORT option activated.
This command gives an equivalent output, an integer from 0 to 65535.
Originally, we decided we needed such a command in LibreMesh to replace the usage of $RANDOM, as discussed here libremesh/lime-packages#800 and here libremesh/lime-packages#980.

I would be nice to have this also in the openwrt-22.03 branch.

[ilario]

Just saw the "Formalities" test failing, I am going to fix it ASAP

[BKPepe]

I am not sure... You should rather active BUSYBOX_CONFIG_ASH_RANDOM_SUPPORT in your build instead of adding your own custom package for it.

And no, this will not be backported to OpenWrt 22.03.

[BKPepe]

Outdated LICENSE SPDX License Identifier.

[BKPepe]

Why you are trying to add something here back, when it was removed?

Suggested change

	define Package/$(PKG_NAME)
	define Package/random-numgen

[BKPepe]

Should be elsewhere, please look how Makefiles are done in this repository. Also, this section should have 2 spaces as indentation not tab.

[BKPepe]

• Use INSTALL_BIN
• Move only specific files not everything

[1715173329]

since this is a very simple wrapper, imo it should go to somewhere like package/base-files/files/lib/functions.sh

[ilario]

Thanks @BKPepe for the corrections!
Is it better now?
Following @1715173329's suggestion, I opened an alternative pull request here: openwrt/openwrt#12291

You should rather active BUSYBOX_CONFIG_ASH_RANDOM_SUPPORT in your build instead of adding your own custom package for it.

That is what we were doing in LibreMesh, but that implies that we are not compatible with pristine OpenWrt's ImageBuilder.

And no, this will not be backported to OpenWrt 22.03.

Ok

[ilario]

@aparcar realized here that the range of random-numgen (0-65535) is different from the range of $RANDOM (0-32767).
I did not thought that before.
So before merging I have either to document this or to have random-numgen to output in the same range.

[champtar]

@ilario what is the size increase of enabling BUSYBOX_CONFIG_ASH_RANDOM_SUPPORT ?

[ilario]

@ilario what is the size increase of enabling BUSYBOX_CONFIG_ASH_RANDOM_SUPPORT ?

The same was asked by @aparcar here: openwrt/openwrt#12291 (comment) :)

Is there a proper way to measure that?

I compiled and then run binwalk on the -sysupgrade.bin image.
The result is that the third part of the file is a Squashfs filesystem with a size of:

• 3453220 bytes for clean OpenWrt (compiled for YouHua WR1200JS)
• 3453332 bytes when selecting BUSYBOX_CUSTOM
• 3453408 bytes when selecting also BUSYBOX_CONFIG_ASH_RANDOM_SUPPORT

So in total, it increases by only 188 bytes, if I measured it correctly.

[ilario]

Closing as fixed in openwrt/openwrt#12465 and openwrt/openwrt@8f427f1