On Fri, 4 Mar 2011 21:57:24 +0000 Christopher Jefferson <chris@bubblescope.net> wrote:
[...] Mathematica just says "PrimeQ", but they make the claim that they have done extensive mathematical and practical testing, and never found a number which their probabilistic algorithm fails on.
Given the extreme rarity of such numbers, that's easily believable. Even with the speed of modern computers, it could take a *very* long time to locate one, with "very long" measured in at least years, and likely decades or more on a single machine. And if they tweaked the parameters a little, they could bump the probability much, much lower, at the expense of slightly more time.
Unless someone is willing to put that amount of work in, I personally would much prefer is_probably_prime. [...]
Your wish is granted. :-) See my previous message for the reason. -- Chad Nelson Oak Circle Software, Inc. * * *