Generate Normally Distributed Random Variable

annotated.js

function(
    // method due to George Marsaglia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marsaglia_polar_method)
    a,      // mean      (default value 0)
    b,      // variance  (default value 1)
    c, d, e // placeholders
){
  with (Math){
    do d = 2*random() - 1,
       e = 2*random() - 1,
       c = d*d + e*e;
    while (c > 1);
    return (b||1)*d*sqrt(-2*log(c)/c) + (a||0)
  }
}

index.js

function(a,b,c,d,e){with(Math){do d=2*random()-1,e=2*random()-1,c=d*d+e*e;while(c>1);return(b||1)*d*sqrt(-2*log(c)/c)+(a||0)}}

LICENSE.txt

            DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE
                    Version 2, December 2004

 Copyright (C) 2011 Peteris Erins http://peteriserins.com

 Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim or modified
 copies of this license document, and changing it is allowed as long
 as the name is changed.

            DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO PUBLIC LICENSE
   TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR COPYING, DISTRIBUTION AND MODIFICATION

  0. You just DO WHAT THE FUCK YOU WANT TO.

package.json

{
  "name": "normalrandom",

  "description": "Generate a normal random variable with given mean, variance.",

  "keywords": [
    "math",
    "random",
    "statistics",
    "distribution"
  ]
}

test.txt

*
*
**
***
*****
*******
***********
***************
*********************
***************************
***********************************
******************************************
**************************************************
********************************************************
*************************************************************
****************************************************************
****************************************************************
*************************************************************
********************************************************
***************************************************
******************************************
***********************************
****************************
********************
**************
***********
*******
*****
***
**
*

@jed, do you mean the description? I cannot find any comments.

sorry, i meant the trailing comma in the keywords.

Oh, indeed, thanks for spotting that. Fixed.