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Find Prime Numbers in C# Using the Sieve of Eratosthenes

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4.80/5 (5 votes)
3 Oct 2011CPOL 64.8K   8   7
This tip illustrates a simple C# console program that uses the Sieve of Eratosthenes algorithm to quickly find prime numbers.
Ever been tasked to come up with lists of prime numbers and you want to use the Sieve of Eratosthenes[^] to do so, but aren't quite sure how to code it up in C#? If so, then this simple console program written with .NET should do the trick:

C#
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;

namespace PrimeFinder
{
    class Program
    {
        static void Main(string[] args)
        {
            // this method encodes the Sieve of Eratosthenes
            // with some intelligent shortcuts, such as excluding
            // all even numbers greater than 2 etc.
            try
            {
                List<string> outputLines = new List<string>();

                // read in the numbers specified in the argument
                string[] numbersList = File.ReadAllLines(args[0]);
                foreach(string number in numbersList) {
                    int N = Int32.Parse(number);
                    List<int> primeCandidates = new List<int>(N);
                    if (N==2)
                    {
                        outputLines.Add("2\r\n");  // trivial case
                        continue;
                    }
                    if (N==1)
                    {
                        throw new InvalidArgumentException("The number one is trivially prime.");
                    }

                    // initialize primeCandidates with 2 
                    // and the list of all odd numbers
                    // less than N -- because all even numbers 
                    // save 2 are nonprime by definition
                    primeCandidates.Add(2); // the number 2 is always prime
                    for (int i = 2; i <= (N+1)/2; i++)
                        primeCandidates.Add(2*i-1);

                    for(int j = 0;j < primeCandidates.Count;++j) {
                        // initialize first prime
                        int prime = primeCandidates[j];

                        // use for loop to go through the multiples of the prime
                        for( int multiple = 2;multiple*prime <= N;++multiple) {
                            if (prime == 2) break; // duh, 2 is a prime

                            // skip all even multiples of 2
                            if ((multiple * prime) % 2 == 0) 
                               continue;                              
 
                            // don't bother removing an item that 
                            // is not even in the list
                            if (!primeCandidates.Contains(multiple * prime)) 
                               continue;  

                            primeCandidates.Remove(multiple * prime);
                        }
                    }

                    // put together a string representing 
                    // current output line of primes
                    string currentOutputLine = string.Empty;
                    foreach (int value in primeCandidates)
                        currentOutputLine += value.ToString() + ',';
                    currentOutputLine = 
                       currentOutputLine.Remove(currentOutputLine.Length - 1);
                    currentOutputLine += "\r\n"; // Windows CRLF encoding

                    Console.Write(currentOutputLine);

                    // write a line to the output file for 
                    // each list of prime
                    // candidates generated
                    outputLines.Add(currentOutputLine);
                }

                File.WriteAllLines(args[1], outputLines);

                Console.WriteLine("DONE computing primes");
                Console.ReadKey();
            }
            catch (Exception ex)
            {
                Console.WriteLine(ex.Message);
                Console.ReadKey();
            }
        }
    }
}

License

This article, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)


Written By
Team Leader
United States United States
Dr. Brian Hart obtained his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from the University of California, Irvine in 2008. Under Professor David Buote, Dr. Heart researched the structure and evolution of the universe. Dr. Hart is currently employed as a Astrodynamicist / Space Data Scientist with Point Solutions Group in Colorado Springs, CO supporting Space Operations Command, United States Space Force. Dr. Hart is a Veteran of the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy, having most recently served at Fort George G. Meade, MD as a Naval Officer with a Cyber Warfare Engineer designator. Dr. Hart has previously held positions at Jacobs Engineering supporting Cheyenne Mountain/Space Force supporting tests, with USSPACECOM/J58 supporting operators using predictive AI/ML with Rhombus Power, and with SAIC supporting the Horizon 2 program at STARCOM. Dr. Hart is well known to the community due to his over 150 technical publications and public speaking events. Originally from Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota, Dr. Hart lives in Colorado Springs with his Black Lab, Bruce, and likes bowling, winter sports, exploring, and swimming. Dr. Hart has a new movie coming out soon, which is a documentary called "Galaxy Clusters: Giants of the Universe," about his outer space research. The movie showcases the Chandra X-ray Observatory, one of NASA’s four great observatories and the world’s most powerful telescopes for detecting X-rays. The movie has been accepted for screening at the USAFA Planetarium and will highlight the need of updating and maintaining X-ray telescopes for scientific advancement.

Comments and Discussions

 
GeneralMy vote of 5 Pin
long_cloud31-Mar-13 4:56
long_cloud31-Mar-13 4:56 
GeneralAnother alternative. Pin
Bill Anderson28-Dec-12 12:27
Bill Anderson28-Dec-12 12:27 
Generalvery nice .. Pin
Denno.Secqtinstien17-Nov-11 23:31
Denno.Secqtinstien17-Nov-11 23:31 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 Loved it... Pin
GPUToaster™12-Sep-11 23:33
GPUToaster™12-Sep-11 23:33 
GeneralReason for my vote of 5 Nice concept... Pin
Pravin Patil, Mumbai12-Sep-11 8:21
Pravin Patil, Mumbai12-Sep-11 8:21 
GeneralEdit: Added wiki link to the sieve definition for those who ... Pin
DaveAuld11-Sep-11 10:23
professionalDaveAuld11-Sep-11 10:23 
GeneralRe: Edit: Fixed the link Pin
Reiss12-Sep-11 0:27
professionalReiss12-Sep-11 0:27 

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