Dick Moores wrote:
> I'm still trying to understand classes. I've made some progress, I
> think, but I don't understand how to use this one. How do I call it, or
> any of its functions? It's from the Cookbook, at
> < http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Python/Recipe/5230 48>.

The short answer is that use should look something like::

>>> plist = PrimeList()
>>> plist.contains(32)
False
>>> plist.contains(23)
True

But this doesn't seem like a particularly good recipe. Seems like you
would really rather be writing code like::

>>> plist = PrimeList()
>>> 1 in plist
False
>>> 2 in plist
True
>>> 22 in plist
False
>>> 23 in plist
True
>>> 782 in plist
False
>>> 787 in plist
True

Here's how I'd write the recipe::

import itertools

def iter_primes():
# an iterator of all numbers between 2 and +infinity
numbers = itertools.count(2)

# generate primes forever
while True:

# get the first number from the iterator (always a prime)
prime = numbers.next()
yield prime

# remove all numbers from the (infinite) iterator that are
# divisible by the prime we just generated
numbers = itertools.ifilter(prime.__rmod__, numbers)


class PrimeList(object):
def __init__(self):
# infinite iterator of primes
self._prime_iter = iter_primes()

# the last prime we've seen
self._last_prime = None

# all primes seen so far
self._prime_set = set()

# add the first prime (so that _last_prime is set)
self._add_prime()

def __contains__(self, n):
# add primes to the list until we exceed n
while n > self._last_prime:
self._add_prime()

# return True if n is one of our primes
return n in self._prime_set

def _add_prime(self):
# take a prime off the iterator and update the prime set
self._last_prime = self._prime_iter.next()
self._prime_set.add(self._last_prime)


STeVe