Inverted Pyramid Star Pattern

Java 8 has no String.repeat, so we use a small helper method. In Java 11 and newer you can write "*".repeat(count).

/*
 * Problem : Inverted centered pyramid of stars.
 * Input   : One integer n (number of rows).
 * Output  : n lines.
 * Approach: Spaces go up and stars go down in each row.
 * 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: Count the spaces. Row 1 has no spaces. Each next row has one more.
            int spaces = row - 1;

            // Step 3: Count the stars. Row 1 has 2n-1 stars. Each next row has 2 stars less.
            int stars = 2 * (rows - row) + 1;

            // Step 4: Print the spaces and then the stars.
            System.out.println(repeat(" ", spaces) + repeat("*", stars));
        }
    }
}