To get random numbers with Perl, you need to:


  - initialize the random number generator ONCE, like this:

    srand (time ^ $$ ^ unpack "%L*", `ps axww | gzip`);

    (this on suggestion from 
    http://www.perl.com/doc/manual/html/pod/perlfunc/srand.html)


  - use the rand() method to get a random number:

      # returns a number between 0 and $upperBound
      $foo = rand ( $upperBound );


  - if you want an integer, cast it as such:

      $foo = int $foo