Generates random data from the beta probability distribution. There are two forms.

Syntax

RND = BetaRnd(a, b, Rows, Cols, Seed, State)

RND = BetaRnd(a, b, Seed, State)

Arguments

Name

Description

a

First shape parameter. A scalar, vector, or matrix of positive values.

b

Second shape parameter. A scalar, vector, or matrix of positive values.

Rows

(optional)

Number of output rows. A positive integer. Only valid when a and b are scalars.

Cols

(optional)

Number of output columns. A positive integer. Only valid when a and b are scalars.

Seed

(optional)

The seed to initialize the random number generator. An integer. See Comments below.

State

(optional)

Set to "discard" if the state of the pseudo random number is not to be retained for future use. The default is "retain".

Outputs

Name

Description

RND

Random numbers from the beta distribution. Its dimensions are determined by the input arguments. See Comments below.

Example 1

Generate two random numbers from the beta distribution with (a, b) pairs of (2, 5) and (4,3), respectively, with a random seed of 2003.

Syntax

rnd = BetaRnd([2,4],[5,3],2003)

Results

rnd = 0.25963    0.53191

Example 2

Generate a 1x4 vector of random numbers from the beta distribution with a = 2 and b = 5, with a random seed of 2003.

Syntax

rnd = BetaRnd(2,5,1,4,2003)

Results

rnd = 0.25963    0.25424    0.038244    0.043708

Comments

a and b must be the same size.

If the optional size inputs are omitted, the size of the output is solely determined by the size of the two inputs, a and b. Each entry in the output uses the corresponding entries in the two inputs.

If the optional size inputs are provided, both must be supplied. In that case, a and b must be scalars and the size of the output is determined by Rows and Cols. That is, the inputs a and b are used for each element of the output.

The Seed can be any number. Using a seed allows a random sequence to be repeated.

See Also:

BetaCDF

BetaInvCDF

BetaPDF

Probability Distributions