Displaying a square based on user's input

[luke]

Hello,
I have to write a program that displays hollow square with asterisks or plus sign or any sign. The sign is not important.
The size of the square is entered by the user. For example, when the user enters 1 the program displays
+++
+ +
+++
when enters 2 it displays something like this
++++
+ +
+ +
++++
and so on.Up until size 20. Basically it has to be a square, similar to the 8-bit figures displayed in DOS with asterisks or plus sign and with every bigger number inputted by the user it has to expand.

I coded up to size 2:

import java.util.Scanner;

public class Square 
{


    public static void main( String[] args ) 
    {
        String str = "+";
        int x;
        Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);
        
        for(int a = 1; a <= 21; a++)
        {
        System.out.print("\nEnter size of the side: ");
        x = input.nextInt();
        
        if( x==1 )
        {
            System.out.printf("%s%s%s", str, str, str);
            System.out.printf("\n%s %s",str, str);
            System.out.printf("\n%s%s%s",str,str,str);
        }
        else if( x==2 )
        {
            System.out.printf("%s%s%s%s",str,str,str,str);
            System.out.printf("\n%s  %s",str,str);
            System.out.printf("\n%s  %s",str,str);
            System.out.printf("\n%s%s%s%s",str,str,str,str);
        }

    and so on

}

Is there any other way of doing this because if I keep going this way the code will become just crazy huge and full of System.out.printf methods?

[collin389]

take a look at for loops: For Loop Tutorial

[luke]

Thank you for your reply, collin389.

[luke]

OK, using your advice I have changed the two if statements to

if( x==1 )
	 {
	                for( int i=1; i < 3; i++ )
			{
				System.out.println("" + s +s );
			}			

	 }
	 else if( x==2 )
	 {
		for( int i=1; i < 4; i++ )
		{
			System.out.println("" +s +s +s );
		}
         }

and this is just until size two. I am trying to incorporate an empty string in the second line of the square in order to get * *, but I am always getting ***.
So if x==2 I am getting
***
***
***
Any ideas?

[Zack]

That's because you are adding the same string instead of a space.

Realize this:

String x = "+";
String y = x+x+x;

Here, y is the string x (which is a + sign) repeated over and over--hence, y == "+++".

If, instead, you wanted "+ +", you would do something like this...

String x = "+";
String y = x+" "+x;

In your case, also, you should realize that you don't actually need two if statements--notice that in each for loop, your constraining variable (i < ...) is equal to x+2.

[luke]

That's because you are adding the same string instead of a space.

Realize this:

String x = "+";
String y = x+x+x;

Here, y is the string x (which is a + sign) repeated over and over--hence, y == "+++".

If, instead, you wanted "+ +", you would do something like this...

String x = "+";
String y = x+" "+x;

In your case, also, you should realize that you don't actually need two if statements--notice that in each for loop, your constraining variable (i < ...) is equal to x+2.

Thanks for your reply, Zack.
But if I do this

String x = "+";
String y = x+" "+x;

I will be getting
+ +
+ +
+ +

while I need (for square size 2)
+++
+ +
+++

and for square size 3 it has to be
++++
+ +
+ +
++++

and so on. To simplify - the number of "+" signs in the sides of the square corresponds to the integer, inputted by the user.

[Zack]

Then your for loop won't handle everything. Think of it like this:

// x represents the width of the square, so 2 == ++ at the top.
print +, x times;
repeat this x-2 times:
     print +, then a space x-2 times, then a +
print +, x times;

Hopefully that helps you think a little bit--the for loop should only handle the "repeat" portion of the code, whereas the other parts should be procedural on their own.

I'm off to bed now, so hopefully this can get you going at the very least--if not, I'm sure someone else can help you out before I'm back tomorrow. Good luck!

[JosAH]

Have a look at this little method:

void line(char c, char m, int n) {
   System.out.print(c);
   for (int i= 0; i < n; i++)
      System.out.print(m);
   System.out.println(c);
}

It prints a single character 'c' followed by n characters 'm' and one 'c' again; the method also prints a new line at the end. You can build squares with it ...

kind regards,

Jos

[luke]

Thanks for your kind replies, Zack and JosAH. I have just got out of bed.
I'll try your advise and will be back.

[luke]

Thanks to everybody for the help. It was really valuable.

[luke]

It's about the same stupid square. I realized that actually instead of printing a square it gives me a rectangular. It freaks me out because I don't know what to do. I tried many things. You can take a look at the picture what is going on.


The code is

public static void main( String args[] ) {
    
        Scanner inp = new Scanner(System.in);
        System.out.print("Enter number: ");
        int x = inp.nextInt();

        char s = '*', e = ' ';


        if( x == 4 ) {

                for( int y=1; y < 5; y++ )

                    System.out.print(s);

                System.out.println();

                for( int a=1; a < 3; a++ ) { 
                                    
                    System.out.print(s);

                    for( int i=1; i < 3; i++ )
                
                        System.out.print(e);
                
                    System.out.print(s);
                    System.out.println();    
                }
                
                for( int y=1; y < 5; y++ )

                    System.out.print(s);
                    
            
    }




    }

[luke]

Nobody knows how to make it real square?

[Norm]

What is a real square?
What you printed had 4 sides with the same number of elements.
To get a "visually square" shape, you need to find a character that takes the same amount of space horizontally as the vertical spacing between lines printed on the console.

[luke]

Thanks for your reply, Norm.
I thought I was printing an extra horizontal line.
I noticed when I press Alt+Enter in order to get the Command Prompt window maximized the square is a "square". But when the console window is minimized it creates the impression that there is an extra horizontal line.

[bojangle]

Nobody knows how to make it real square?

public

If you want to make it look and feel more semetrical. Then you can just add a space behind the asterisk and add a double space to the interior.
You can do the same with the above for loop example as well.

 public static void main( String args[] ) {
       Scanner input = new Scanner(System.in);

       int side, width;
        
        System.out.print("This program prints an asterisk square!");
        System.out.println();
        System.out.print("Enter a side length: ");
        side = input.nextInt();
     
        int hight = side;

        if( side <= 20 && side > 0) {
            
            while(height >= 1){
                width = 1;
                
                while(width <= side){  
                    System.out.print("* "); //There is an asterisk and a space here
                    width++;
                    while(height >=2 && height <= side-1 && width <= side-1){
                        System.out.print("  "); //There's two spaces here
                        width++;
                    }
                }
                
               --height;
               System.out.println();
            }    
        }else{
            System.out.print("Out of bounds!");
        }
        System.out.println();
    }

[JosAH]

This thread is almost two years old; I'm closing it.

Jos