FreeMat
RANDBIN Generate Binomial Random Variables

Section: Random Number Generation

Usage

Generates random variables with a binomial distribution. The general syntax for its use is

   y = randbin(N,p)

where N is a vector representing the number of Bernoulli trials, and p is the success probability associated with each trial.

Internals

A Binomial random variable describes the number of successful outcomes from N Bernoulli trials, with the probability of success in each trial being p. The probability distribution is

\[ P(n) = \frac{N!}{n!(N-n)!}p^n(1-p)^{N-n} \]

Example

Here we generate 10 binomial random variables, corresponding to N=100 trials, each with probability p=0.1, using both randbin and then again using rand (to simulate the trials):

--> randbin(100,.1*ones(1,10))

ans = 
  6  7  6  7 13  7  7 10 13 15 

--> sum(rand(100,10)<0.1)

ans = 
 11  9  8  9 15 16 11 17  4  7