Sieve of Eratosthenes in PHP

Algorithms: Number Theory November 15, 2026 PHP

The sieve identifies all primes up to a limit by marking multiples of smaller primes.

php
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<?php
declare(strict_types=1);
// Sieve of Eratosthenes in PHP
//
// PURPOSE
// The sieve identifies all primes up to a limit by marking multiples of smaller primes. This
// example returns their count.
//
// METHOD
// Keep a composite marker array. For each unmarked p up to the square root, mark multiples
// starting at p squared; smaller multiples were already handled. Count the remaining
// unmarked values from two onward.
//
// COMPLEXITY
// O(n log log n) time and O(n) auxiliary space.
//
// CONTRACT
// n >= 0. Returns the number of primes <= n. The marker array requires memory proportional
// to n.
// Public APIs infer array lengths except in C, which accepts pointer/length pairs. Vertex
// counts and matrix dimensions remain explicit. Arrays must contain signed 32-bit integers.
// Sorted order, correct tree topology, and caller-owned data-structure invariants are
// preconditions; checking them on every query would change query complexity.
// Scalar and shape checks are included. Value-range checks are included where needed to
// prevent invalid indexing or nontermination. Allocation sizes are capped at 4,000,000
// workspace entries. Arithmetic outside Python raises an error on 32-bit overflow; Python
// uses arbitrary precision. Native allocation failures propagate. In-place outputs may be
// partly updated after arithmetic failure. These are single-threaded, in-memory
// implementations.
//
// LANGUAGE DETAILS
// PHP 8.1+ on a 64-bit runtime: packed arrays, strict scalar types, read-only inputs by
// value using copy-on-write, references only for outputs, and checked 32-bit arithmetic.
// Invalid input and overflow throw exceptions. PHP arrays have higher overhead than native
// packed buffers in C/Java.
//
// EXAMPLE
// Expected return: 4.
// Run: php example.php
// Tests for this exact source artifact run before publication. The accompanying source
// archive includes unit cases, runtime results, and source hashes.

function alg_require(bool $valid): void { if (!$valid) throw new InvalidArgumentException("invalid algorithm input"); }
function alg_checked(int|float $v): int { if ($v < -2147483648 || $v > 2147483647 || floor($v) != $v) throw new OverflowException("32-bit result overflow"); return (int)$v; }
function alg_add(int $a,int $b): int { return alg_checked($a+$b); }
function alg_sub(int $a,int $b): int { return alg_checked($a-$b); }
function alg_mul(int $a,int $b): int { return alg_checked($a*$b); }
function alg_size(int $n): int { alg_require($n>=0 && $n<=4000000); return $n; }

function sieve_count(int $n): int {
    alg_require((($n >= 0) && ($n <= 1000000)));
    $composite = array_fill(0, alg_size(alg_add($n, 1)), 0);
    $p = 2;
    $multiple = 0;
    $count = 0;
    while (($p <= intdiv($n, $p))) {
        if (($composite[$p] == 0)) {
            $multiple = alg_mul($p, $p);
            while (($multiple <= $n)) {
                $composite[$multiple] = 1;
                $multiple = alg_add($multiple, $p);
            }
        }
        $p = alg_add($p, 1);
    }
    $p = 2;
    while (($p <= $n)) {
        if (($composite[$p] == 0)) {
            $count = alg_add($count, 1);
        }
        $p = alg_add($p, 1);
    }
    return $count;
}

$n = 10;
$result = sieve_count($n);
echo $result, PHP_EOL;