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How to know a number is prime without a built-in method in Ruby
okwudili onyejiaku
Overview
A prime number is a number divisible only by itself and 1 without a remainder. Examples include 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, and so on.
In Ruby, we can check whether or not a number is prime by using the logic in the syntax below:
Algorithm
The algorithm to check whether or not a number is prime is as follows:
# create first counter
counter1 = 0
# check if number is zero
if (number==0)
puts "0 is not a prime number"
else
# create counter 2
counter2 = 2
while(counter2 < number)
if (number % counter2==0)
counter1 += 1
end
counter2 += 1
end
end
if counter1 > 1
puts "#{number} is not a prime number"
else
puts "#{number} is a prime number"
endCheck if a number is prime in Ruby
Explanation
- We first check if the number is zero. If it is, we know it is not a prime number.
- We also check if the number is divisible by two.
- Then, we check if the number is greater than 1.
With all these, we can check if a number is a prime.
With the algorithm above, we get an output to the console telling us whether or not the number specified is a prime number.
Example
# create a function to check
# if a number is prime or not
def checkIfPrime(number)
# create first counter
counter1 = 0
# check if number is zero
if (number==0)
puts "0 is not a prime number"
else
# create counter 2
counter2 = 2
while(counter2 < number)
if (number % counter2==0)
counter1 += 1
end
counter2 += 1
end
end
if counter1 > 1
puts "#{number} is not a prime number"
else
puts "#{number} is a prime number"
end
end
# create some numbers
no1 = 12
no2 = 3
no3 = 7
no4 = 127
no5 = 91
# check if the numbers are prime numbers
puts checkIfPrime(no1)
puts checkIfPrime(no2)
puts checkIfPrime(no3)
puts checkIfPrime(no4)
puts checkIfPrime(no5)Check if a number is a prime number in Ruby
Explanation
- Line 3: We create a method called
checkIfPrime()that takes a single parameter. It uses the logic we previously implemented to check if a number is prime or not. It then prints the result to the console. - Lines 28–32: We create some numbers to check if they are prime or not.
- Lines 35–39: We use the
checkIfPrime()function we created to check if the numbers are prime numbers.
RELATED TAGS
ruby
CONTRIBUTOR
okwudili onyejiaku
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