Title: Use LINQ with an embedded lambda expression to find prime numbers in C# (Part 3 of 3)

The example Use more efficient LINQ to find prime numbers in C# (Part 2 of 3) uses a LINQ query to find prime numbers. It creates a delegate variable named IsOddPrime referring to a lambda expression and uses it to determine whether a number is prime and should therefore be selected.

It occurred to me that you should be able to use a lambda expression directly in the LINQ query without assigning it to a delegate variable. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any examples. All of the examples I found created a query without a where clause and then called the query's Where method passing it a lambda expression. After some trial and error, I found that the following query works.

var primes = from number in Enumerable.Range(1, max / 2) where ( (Func<int, bool>)(n => { for (int i = 3; i * i <= n; i += 2) if (n % i == 0) return false; return true; } ) )(2 * number + 1) select 2 * number + 1;

The lambda expression is shown in blue.

The code casts the lambda expression into a Func<int, bool>, a function that takes an int as a parameter and returns a bool result. The cast operator is shown in green.

The code wraps the result in parentheses to ensure that the cast operator is applied. It then invokes the method passing it the value 2 * number + 1.

I think the previous version is easier to understand and the two should have the same performance. This version is basically an exercise in figuring out how to use an embedded lambda expression in a LINQ query. See the previous example for more details on how the rest of the program works.

Download the example to experiment with it and to see additional details.