Thread: Printing a rectangle using for loops.

You should indent your code properly, e.g.,

Code:

int main(void)
{
    //RectangleSize represents the area of the rectangle(width*length)
    int length, width, RectangleSize;

    printf("Enter an integer for length:");
    scanf("%d", &length);

    printf("Enter an integer for width:");
    scanf("%d", &width);

    RectangleSize = length*width;
    printf("The area of your rectangle is: %d\n", RectangleSize);
    printf("%d in decimal\n", RectangleSize);
    printf("%x in hexadecimal\n", RectangleSize);
    printf("%o in octal\n", RectangleSize);

    int x;
    for (x = 1; x <= width; x++)
    {
        printf("*");
    }

    for (x = 0; x <= length - 2; x++)
    {
        x = 0;

        for (; x == 0; x++)
        {
            printf("*");
        }

        for (; x <= width - 2; x++)
        {
            printf(" ");
        }

        for (; x == width; )
        {
            printf("*\n");
            for (x = 1; x <= width; x++)
            {
                printf("*");
            }
        }
    }

    return 0;
}

I have taken the liberty of fixing several typo errors related to the braces. These were hard to spot before proper indentation was introduced. Remember to #include <stdio.h> since you use scanf and printf. You should also check the return value of scanf, but do not worry about that for now.

Now, one problem you still have appears to be the reuse of x. For the inner loops, use a different variable. I am guessing that you are trying to use for loop as if statements: do not do that, just use if statements.

That said, I suggest that you have three outer loops: one to print the top border, one to print the middle section, and one to print the bottom border. Only the outer loop that prints the middle section needs to have an inner loop, i.e., to print the spaces. This way, you do not need any if statements.

So far I have my code down to this. The second outer for loop seems to be the problem. I cant get it to print properly. any ideas?

Code:

#include<stdio.h>

int main(void)
{
//RectangleSize represents the area of the rectangle(width*length)
    int length, width, RectangleSize;

    printf("Enter an integer for length:");
    scanf("%d", &length);

    printf("Enter an integer for width:");
    scanf("%d", &width);

    RectangleSize = length*width; 
    printf("The area of your rectangle is: %d\n", RectangleSize);
    printf("%d in decimal\n", RectangleSize); 
    printf("%x in hexadecimal\n", RectangleSize);
    printf("%o in octal\n", RectangleSize);

//for loops used to print a rectangle 
    int x, y;
    for(x=1; x<=width; x++)
    {
        printf("*");
    }
    
    for(x=0; x<=length-2; x++)
    {
        y=0;
        for(;y==0; y++)
        {    
            printf("*");   
               }

        for(;y<=width-2; y++)
        {    
            printf(" ");
        }

        for(;y==width;)
        {    
            printf("*\n");
              }         
    }

/*    for(x=1; x<=width; x++)
    {
        printf("*");    
    }
   */
    return 0;

}

At the end of this loop,

Code:

        for(;y<=length-2; y++)
        {    
            printf(" ");
        }

y = length-1;

So in the next loop,

Code:

        for(;y==length;)
        {    
            printf("*");
           }

y==length is never true.

Also, notice the rectangle is 13 high, not 12. This problem, like the first, is also related to your loop conditions, "x <= width-2, and "y <= length-2", and the initial values of x and y.

Generally, when you need a loop to execute n times, you use one of two forms:

(x = 0; x < n; x++)

or

(x = 1; x <= n; x++)

It's also conventional to use x for horizontal dimensions and y for vertical dimensions.

-

titaniumnuke, I have merged your two threads into the first one as it looks like you are basically asking the same thing. It looks like you still need to indent your code better, though it is improving in that aspect somewhat.

Frankly, you should not start with something as obfuscated as this:

Code:

for(;y==0; y++)
{   
    printf("*");  
}

Just print the border:

Code:

printf("*");

If you really want to handle the case of the length or width being less than 2, then first write an if statement if necessary, and only after you're sure it works, then convert it to the ridiculous notion of using a for loop when an if statement is appropriate. Note that you have to consider the top and bottom borders too, if you want to handle such cases, but focus on getting it right with a simple solution for length > 1 and width > 1 first.