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Tweak docs
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newpavlov committed Nov 28, 2024
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63 changes: 37 additions & 26 deletions README.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ library like [`rand`].

[`rand`]: https://crates.io/crates/rand

## Usage
## Examples

Add the `getrandom` dependency to your `Cargo.toml` file:

Expand All @@ -38,6 +38,16 @@ fn get_random_u128() -> Result<u128, getrandom::Error> {
}
```

The crate also support direct generation of random `u32` and `u64` values:

```rust
fn get_rand_u32_u64() -> Result<(u32, u64), getrandom::Error> {
let a = getrandom::u32()?;
let b = getrandom::u64()?;
Ok((a, b))
}
```

## Supported targets

| Target | Target Triple | Implementation
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -106,6 +116,25 @@ WILL NOT have any effect on its downstream users.

[`.cargo/config.toml`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/cargo/reference/config.html

### "Insecure" functions

Sometimes, early in the boot process, the OS has not collected enough
entropy to securely seed its RNG. This is especially common on virtual
machines, where standard "random" events are hard to come by.

Some operating system interfaces always block until the RNG is securely
seeded, which can take anywhere from a few seconds to more than a minute.
Some platforms offer a choice between blocking and getting potentially less
secure randomness, i.e. generated data may be less difficult for an attacker
to predict.

We expose this functionality through two sets of functions. The "secure"
functions ([`fill`], [`fill_uninit`], [`u32`], and [`u64`]) may block but
always return "secure" randomness suitable for cryptographic needs.
Meanwhile, their "insecure" counterparts ([`insecure_fill`],
[`insecure_fill_uninit`], [`insecure_u32`], and [`insecure_u64`]) may return
randomness of lesser quality but are less likely to block in entropy-starved scenarios.

### WebAssembly support

This crate fully supports the [WASI] and [Emscripten] targets. However,
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -210,31 +239,6 @@ The fallback can be disabled by enabling the `linux_getrandom` opt-in backend.
Note that doing so will bump minimum supported Linux kernel version to 3.17
and Android API level to 23 (Marshmallow).

### Early boot

Sometimes, early in the boot process, the OS has not collected enough
entropy to securely seed its RNG. This is especially common on virtual
machines, where standard "random" events are hard to come by.

Some operating system interfaces always block until the RNG is securely
seeded. This can take anywhere from a few seconds to more than a minute.
A few (Linux, NetBSD and Solaris) offer a choice between blocking and
getting an error; in these cases, we always choose to block.

On Linux (when the `getrandom` system call is not available), reading from
`/dev/urandom` never blocks, even when the OS hasn't collected enough
entropy yet. To avoid returning low-entropy bytes, we first poll
`/dev/random` and only switch to `/dev/urandom` once this has succeeded.

On OpenBSD, this kind of entropy accounting isn't available, and on
NetBSD, blocking on it is discouraged. On these platforms, nonblocking
interfaces are used, even when reliable entropy may not be available.
On the platforms where it is used, the reliability of entropy accounting
itself isn't free from controversy. This library provides randomness
sourced according to the platform's best practices, but each platform has
its own limits on the grade of randomness it can promise in environments
with few sources of entropy.

## Error handling

We always prioritize failure over returning known insecure "random" bytes.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -346,4 +350,11 @@ dual licensed as above, without any additional terms or conditions.
[LICENSE-MIT]: https://github.com/rust-random/getrandom/blob/master/LICENSE-MIT

[`Error::UNEXPECTED`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/struct.Error.html#associatedconstant.UNEXPECTED
[`fill`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.fill.html
[`fill_uninit`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.fill_uninit.html
[`u32`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.u32.html
[`u64`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.u64.html
[`insecure_fill`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.insecure_fill.html
[`insecure_fill_uninit`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.insecure_fill_uninit.html
[`insecure_u32`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.insecure_u32.html
[`insecure_u64`]: https://docs.rs/getrandom/latest/getrandom/fn.insecure_u64.html
15 changes: 15 additions & 0 deletions src/lib.rs
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@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
// Overwrite links to crate items with intra-crate links
//! [`Error::UNEXPECTED`]: Error::UNEXPECTED
//! [`fill`]: fill
//! [`fill_uninit`]: fill_uninit
//! [`u32`]: u32()
//! [`u64`]: u64()
//! [`insecure_fill`]: insecure_fill
//! [`insecure_fill_uninit`]: insecure_fill_uninit
//! [`insecure_u32`]: insecure_u32
//! [`insecure_u64`]: insecure_u64

#![no_std]
#![doc(
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -74,6 +81,8 @@ pub fn fill(dst: &mut [u8]) -> Result<(), Error> {

/// Fill `dst` with **potentially insecure** random bytes from the system's entropy source.
///
/// See the ["insecure" functions][crate#insecure-functions] section for more information.
///
/// # Examples
/// ```
/// # fn main() -> Result<(), getrandom::Error> {
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -132,6 +141,8 @@ pub fn fill_uninit(dst: &mut [MaybeUninit<u8>]) -> Result<&mut [u8], Error> {
/// No part of `dst` will ever be de-initialized at any point, regardless
/// of what is returned.
///
/// See the ["insecure" functions][crate#insecure-functions] section for more information.
///
/// # Examples
/// ```ignore
/// # // We ignore this test since `uninit_array` is unstable.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -167,6 +178,8 @@ pub fn u32() -> Result<u32, Error> {

/// Get **potentially insecure** random `u32` from the system's entropy source.
///
/// See the ["insecure" functions][crate#insecure-functions] section for more information.
///
/// # Examples
/// ```
/// # fn main() -> Result<(), getrandom::Error> {
Expand All @@ -193,6 +206,8 @@ pub fn u64() -> Result<u64, Error> {

/// Get **potentially insecure** random `u64` from the system's entropy source.
///
/// See the ["insecure" functions][crate#insecure-functions] section for more information.
///
/// # Examples
/// ```
/// # fn main() -> Result<(), getrandom::Error> {
Expand Down

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