Primer++

Rewritten from the ground up in C++ with stability and performance improvements

Features

Feature	Primer++	Primer (Python)
Speed	Fast	Slow
CPU Architecture	32/64-bit	Same as Python install
OS Compatability	Windows, Linux	All Python 3.6+ supported OSs
Cross-compatiblity with other versions of Primer	✅	✅
Multi-threaded	❌	❌
Automatic updates (Windows)	❌	✅
Automatic old (pre 1.2.0) config migration *1	❌	✅
Automatic config generation	✅	✅
Console Window Title Support (Windows) *2	✅	✅
Generate prime numbers *3	✅	✅
Save prime numbers to a file *4	✅	✅
Keep track of generation statistics	✅	✅
Generation statistic: Total Calculations	✅	✅
Generation statistic: Prime numbers found	✅	✅
Generation statistic: Latest prime found	✅	✅
Save generation stats to a config *5	✅	✅
Pretty print config (easier to read & edit) *6	✅	❌
Load generation stats from the config on start *7	✅	✅
Language	C++ (GCC 8.1.0)	Python 3.6+
Created	7th May 2020	26th November 2019
Build Success (master)
Download Requirements	Windows, Linux	Python 3.6+
Direct download links

1. If you're upgrading to Primer++ from Primer (Python) 1.1.0 or older, please run Primer (Python) 1.2.0 (or newer) to automatically migrate your old config (Primer.config) to Primer_config.json.

2. Primer will display the current number being prime-tested, and how long it has been since the last prime was found in the console window title (when it has taken more than 20 seconds to find a new prime. This is to prevent Primer from slowing down early on when calculating small primes)

3. To calculate primes, Primer will try to divide the test number between numbers 2-itself.

   Test_number =  7
   7 / 3 != whole number
   7 / 4 != whole number
   7 / 5 != whole number
   7 / 6 != whole number
   Test_number must be prime!
   
   Test_number += 2
   
   Test_number: 9
   9 / 3 == whole number
   Test number is not prime!

4. Primer will save the prime numbers it finds to Primer.txt (each prime on a new line)

5. Primer will save generation statistics to Primer_config.json (as soon as the statistics are updated)

6. Pretty printed config has all values expanded, and makes it much easier to read.

   Pretty Print:

    {
        "debugging": {
            "Force Unix": "False"
        },
        "statistics": {
            "Latest Prime": 0,
            "Primes Found": 0,
            "Total Calculations": 0
        }
    }

   Non-pretty Print:

   {"debugging": {"Force Unix": "False"}, "statistics": {"Latest Prime": 0, "Primes Found": 0, "Total Calculations": 0}}

   The reason why Primer (Python) doesn't pretty print is because I haven't found an efficient way to do so.

7. Loading generation statistics (Primer_config.json) on start means that when you close the application, starting it up again will return to the state it was in when it closed. This allows you to pickup where you left off.

Downloads

Edition	Primer++	Primer++	Primer++	Primer++	Primer
OS	Windows	Windows	Linux	MacOS	Python-supported
Architecture	32-bit	64-bit	64-bit	64-bit	Python Install
Filename	Primer++_32.exe	Primer++.exe	Primer++	Primer++	Primer.py
CI	Untested
Download				Unavailable

MacOS pre-compiled binary unavailable due to complications with statically linking Primer++.hpp and json.hpp with Primer++.cpp. Because of this, it is currently only possible to run Primer++ on MacOS by building it yourself with the build instructions below.

Building on Windows

• Follow Prerequisits steps 2-4 on the Visual Studio Code documentation to install MinGW
• Clone the repository (or place Primer++.cpp, Primer++.hpp, Primer++_resource.o (Primer++_x32_resource.o), json.hpp, makefile and build.bat in the same directory)
• 64-bit: Run build.bat (or open a terminal in that directory and run mingw32-make)
• 32-bit: Open a terminal in that directory and run mingw32-make 32-bit=true
• Output executable: Primer++.exe (Primer++_32.exe)

Build OSs Tested	GCC version (local)	Local Success	CI Success
Windows 10 (64-bit)	GCC 8.1.0 (MinGW)	✅ (v1.2.2)

Building on Linux and MacOS

• Clone the repository (or place Primer++.cpp, Primer++.hpp, json.hpp and makefile in the same directory)
• Open a terminal in that directory and run make (or execute Build.sh)
• Run Primer with ./Primer++ (or double-click the compiled executable in a file explorer)
• Output executable: Primer++

Build OSs Tested	GCC version (local)	Local Success	CI Success
MacOS Catalina 10.15.4	Apple clang 11.0.3	✅ (v1.2.2)
Fedora 28	GCC 8.3.1	✅ (v1.2.2)	Untested
Ubuntu		Untested

Common Build Errors	OS	How to fix them	Verified Fix
cannot find -lstdc++	Fedora	Run sudo yum install libstdc++-static	✅
cannot find -lm	Fedora	Run sudo yum install glibc-static	✅
cannot find -lc	Fedora	Run sudo yum install glibc-static	✅
Other Errors	All	Try removing --static from the build command

Written in C++ with (MinGW) GCC 8.1.0 on Windows 10

Story

On the 25th of November 2019 I was watching a video about the importance of prime numbers for encryption. This spiked my interest, and after learning how critical prime numbers are for the world we live in, I really wanted to start generating my own.

The intention wasn't to find the next biggest prime number, Python is definitely the wrong language to use for that purpose, but instead just to see if I could continuously generate prime numbers, store them all to a file, and continue where I left off next time I start the script.

I immediately made a head start on getting the basic generation working, and the following morning created a GitHub repository for the project and pushed what I had created so far.

Its non-destructive nature suprised my teachers, and they were all rather impressed how Primer performed and the statistics it provided.

Primer was re-written from the ground up in C++ (5th - 7th May 2020) with stability and performance improvements. This was my first real experience with the C++ language, and I really enjoyed it.

Primer Screenshots

Written in Python 3.8 on Windows 10

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