The NORMAL function returns a random value from a normal distribution with a specified mean and standard deviation. The result returned by NORMAL is dimensioned by all the dimensions of the mean and standard deviation expressions.
A numeric expression that represents the mean of a normal distribution. When mean is NA
, NORMAL returns NA
.
A numeric expression that represents the standard deviation of a normal distribution. When standard-deviation is NA
, NORMAL returns the mean.
Example 8-39 Showing Random Values
Each of the following examples shows a random number that might be returned from a normal distribution with a mean of 0 and a standard deviation of 1.
The first time you execute the following statement,
SHOW NORMAL(0 1)
it might produce the following result.
-0.75
However, when you execute the same statement again, it might produce the following result.
0.87