JavaScript Prime Number Generator

Question

I'm trying to write a JavaScript prime number generator that lists every prime between 1 and 100. I know this is a common programming exercise and there's an abundance of solutions on the web. My question is why does my solution result an empty array? Here's the code: ``` var primeNumbers = []; for (var x=2; x<101; x++) if (x%2 === 0) { break; } else { for (var y=2; y<101; y++) { if (x/y > 1) { break; } else { primeNumbers.push(x); } } } }; console.log(primeNumbers); ```

Accepted Answer

Problem 1: You break when `x%2 === 0`, so you exit the loop at once. Reverse the condition and enter the code in the loop directly:

Replace this:

```
if (x%2 === 0) {
  break;
}
else {
```

with:

```
if (x%2 !== 0) {
```

Problem 2: You are exiting the inner loop if `x/y > 1`. This is the same as the condition `x > y`, so that will always exit the inner loop immediately. Instead make the inner loop run from two and up to one less than `x`:

```
 for (var y=2; y<x; y++) {
```

Problem 3: Instead of dividing `x` by `y` and comparing to one, you should use the modulo operator: `x%y`. If the result is zero, then `x` is not a prime number.

Problem 4: You are adding prime numbers inside the inner loop, so you will end up with most numbers multiple times, not just prime numbers once.

You need to add a variable to keep track of what's happening in the inner loop. If none of the checks in the inner loop are zero, then you can add `x` to the list of prime numbers.

JavaScript Prime Number Generator

Solution

Problem