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@macloo
Last active December 29, 2015 20:09
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# testing for a prime number - use of modulo (modulus)
# also, a good example (for beginners) of use of a while loop
# journalism students often ask how one would use modulo - this shows them one case
n = 0
print "\nWe will test a number to find out whether it is prime."
print "Try it with 25. Then try it with 7 or 13."
n = raw_input("Enter a whole number: ")
def testfor100(a):
a = int(a)
# below is a while loop that quits as soon as
# you enter a number less than 100
while a >= 100:
print "Please enter a number that is less than 100."
a = raw_input("> ")
a = int(a)
return a
# this runs the function above
# the n in parens below feeds the value of n into the function where it has (a)
n = testfor100(n)
for num in range(2, n):
# below, % is the modulus sign
# see http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/ex3.html
remainder = n % num
# below, % is used with d to represent a variable
# called formatters, or format strings: %s %d %r
# see http://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/ex5.html
print "%d / %d leaves a remainder of %d" % (n, num, remainder)
if remainder == 0:
print "Sorry, %d is not a prime number." % n
break
if num == n - 1:
print "\nHooray! %d is a prime number.\n" % n
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