I have discovered an extension to the Sieve of Eratosthenes that not only finds the primes, but also finds the prime factorization of the composites in canonical form. The algorithm requires no explicit multiplication or division, only loops and increments, the same as the "Sieve".
Is such an algorithm already known? I have never been able to find a reference to such an algorithm. I realize that the algorithm probably does not have any practical application. But I think such an algorithm would be of interest to the study of the "Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic" since it is so simple, just as the "Sieve" is. I just want to know if it is something new, which I can't imagine it is. But I cannot find a reference to it. Any reply would be appreciated. ---------- I have been a member of GIMPS since 1999 and have Prime95 running on 3 or 4 computers most of the time, but no "joy" yet. - rlindley _______________________________________________ Prime mailing list [email protected] http://hogranch.com/mailman/listinfo/prime
