VSS C coding to print out a Christmas tree - c

Question

This is my current code
void printer(int input)
{
int star;
int space;
for (int i = 1; i <= input; i++)
{
star = i;
space = i + input - star - 1;
for (int j = 0; j < space; j++)
{
printf(" ");
}
for (int s = 0; s < star; s++)
{
printf("*");
}
printf("\n");
}
}
I'm trying to print it out like
How tall 3?
*
* *
* * *
_| |_
\___/
and this is what i get. What is wrong with my code? and how will I fix the code?
How Tall? 3
*
**
***

Answer 1

Essentially, this snippet of code here that you use:
star = i;
space = i + input - star - 1; // or, space = input - 1 + i - star;
is the same as writing:
star = i;
space = input - 1;
This is because i and star have the same value (quoth star = i), and therefore, negate each other.
Now, can you see a constant here? Yes, the value of input is never changed anywhere, and therefore your code is always what 1 less than the input is. (In this case, its always preceded by 2 (=3-1) spaces) like this:
*
**
***
^^ mark two spaces
And you also forgot to add a trailing space after the asterix and hence there is no spacing between them.
Therefore, to solve your problem, you could store the value of input temporarily and reduce it by 1 in every iteration so it appears like a pyramid.
Example:
void printer(int input)
{
int star;
int space;
// Store the original length of the space
int space_length = input;
for (int i = 1; i <= input; i++)
{
star = i;
// Get the number of spaces for the current iteration
space = space_length - 1;
for (int j = 0; j < space; j++) {
printf(" ");
}
for (int s = 0; s < star; s++) {
printf("* ");
// ^ note this space after the asterisk
}
// Decrease the length of the space every step
// So that it appears like a slope
// Note how we are using 'space_length' instead of input
// This is because if we decrement 'input', this loop
// will get affected, which is not what we want
space_length--;
printf("\n");
}
///////// bottom part of the tree /////////
// number of spaces needed = input - length of "_| |_" - 1
for (int i = 1; i <= input - (4 - 1); i++)
printf(" ");
printf("_| |_\n");
// number of spaces needed = input - length of "\\___/" - 1
for (int i = 1; i <= input - (4 - 1); i++)
printf(" ");
printf("\\___/\n");
}
which gives the output:
*
* *
* * *
_| |_
\___/

Answer 2

your format is the issue. as you already know the size of the tree, you can deduct the size of the first set of whitespace (the first spaces on each lines), being spaces = (size - 1) - i. it should be, for each i:
i1 = 2
i2 = 1
i3 = 0
which seems to be what the result gives. additionally, between all asterix, just insert one space until the last character, and that's the idea

Answer 3

There are too many things gone wrong with this. I'll not post the correct code, but can guide you through it.
Since you want space after stars, print "* " instead of "*"
You have to use decremental space in beginning, before printing star, there's some logical fault in that, which is, you are adding and subtracting i and star, which are same thing. You need to give (input - star) spaces for the loop.
For the trunk, you have to develop some symmetrical logic.
I hope it helps you.

Answer 4

You can do it like this:
#include <stdio.h>
void printer(int input)
{
// for stars
for (int i = 1; i <= input; i++) {
for (int j = 1; j <= input - i; j++) {
printf(" ");
}
for (int k = 1; k <= i; k++) {
if (k == 1) printf("*");
else printf(" *");
}
printf("\n");
}
// for base
int base_half_len = input - 1;
for (int i = 1; i < base_half_len; i++) {
printf("_");
}
printf("| |");
for (int i = 1; i < base_half_len; i++) {
printf("_");
}
printf("\n\\");
for (int i = 1; i < 2 * input - 2; i++) {
printf("_");
}
printf("/\n");
}
int main(void) {
// your code goes here
printer(10);
return 0;
}
Here's the link where I tested it: https://ideone.com/7zpNeW