Alphabet Pyramid Pattern
Problem
Read n (1 to 26) and print a centered pyramid. Row i goes up from A to the i-th letter and then comes down again without repeating the top letter. Example row 3: ABCBA.
Constraints
- 1 <= n <= 26
Examples
Input
3
Output
A ABA ABCBA
Solutions
Each row is spaces + letters going up + letters going down. The down loop starts one letter below the top, so the top letter is not repeated. In Java, a char is a number inside the computer. 'A' + 1 is the number of 'B', so we cast the result back to char.
Java 8 has no String.repeat, so we use a small helper method. In Java 11 and newer you can write " ".repeat(count).
/*
* Problem : Centered alphabet pyramid.
* Input : One integer n (rows).
* Output : n lines.
* Approach: Spaces, letters going up, letters going down.
* Time : O(n^2)
* Space : O(1)
* Java : 8 or newer.
*/
import java.util.Scanner;
public class Main {
// This method returns the text repeated "count" times. Java 11 has String.repeat for this.
static String repeat(String text, int count) {
StringBuilder result = new StringBuilder();
for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
result.append(text);
}
return result.toString();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
int rows = new Scanner(System.in).nextInt();
// Step 1: Repeat once for each row. Row numbers go from 1 to rows.
for (int row = 1; row <= rows; row++) {
// Step 2: Print the spaces first. Row 1 needs the most spaces.
StringBuilder line = new StringBuilder(repeat(" ", rows - row));
// Step 3: Go up from A to the letter of this row. Example: row 3 -> ABC.
for (int index = 0; index < row; index++) {
line.append((char) ('A' + index));
}
// Step 4: Go down again, but skip the top letter. Example: row 3 -> BA.
for (int index = row - 2; index >= 0; index--) {
line.append((char) ('A' + index));
}
// Step 5: Print the finished line. Example: ABCBA.
System.out.println(line);
}
}
}
Hints (2)
- Combine the pyramid pattern with the alphabet triangle.
- The down part starts one letter lower than the top letter.