primes

primes [start] [end]

start
    The starting number (inclusive). If omitted, reads from standard input.

end
    The ending number (inclusive). If omitted, primes generates all primes >= start until the maximum possible number.

The `primes` command in Linux is a utility for generating prime numbers. When invoked without arguments, it reads a starting number from standard input, and then prints all prime numbers greater than or equal to that number to standard output, until it reaches the highest possible integer value. If given two numeric arguments, `primes` will instead print all prime numbers inclusive between those values. It's a simple but effective tool for generating prime numbers, and can be useful in scripting or command-line calculations involving primes. primes command relies on a sieving algorithm to find the primes.

The command has a fairly tight limit on acceptable integer values, usually determined by the system's `int` size. It may not be suitable for generating large prime numbers efficiently.

To print all prime numbers greater than or equal to 10: `echo 10 | primes`
To print all prime numbers between 10 and 20: `primes 10 20`

The primes command uses a variant of the Sieve of Eratosthenes to generate the prime numbers, an efficient algorithm for finding primes within a given range.

factor(1)