How do I print this star pattern in C++? - c++

Question

I need to print a star pattern like this:
*****
** *
*** *
*****
The code that I have tried is:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int i,j,k;
for(i=1;i<5;i++){
for(j=1;j<5;j++){
if(i==1 || j==4 || i==4 )
// if(j==4 || i==4)
cout<<"*";
if(i>1 && i<4){
for(k=1;k<3;k++){
cout<<"";
}
}
else {
cout<<"";
}
}
cout<<endl;
}
return 0;
}
This is the output I get:
****
*
*
****
So, you see I'm having trouble printing the star at the end of each line. and as you can see in the desired output I provided above, in the 2nd and 3rd line, I need to print them with gaps. Now, as I've given the code, I tried to do that but not sure why isn't it working. So, I need your help in achieving this output.
Many other questions have similar title but this is about a completely different star pattern.
P.S: On a side note, I want to mention that I've been learning C++ for over a year now, and I am still having trouble with loops. I have understood other things such as functions, if-else, structures, arrays, basic oop etc, but for some reason, loops trouble me so I thought I should do these star pattern exercises. If you guys have any suggestions how I can improve my logic in loops (especially the nested ones), then it would be very helpful for me. Thanks.

Answer 1

Corrected code with my comments:
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;
int main()
{
int n = 5; // columns count
for(int i = 1; i < n; i++) // i is row index
{
for(int j = 1; j <= n; j++) // j is current symbol index in line i
{ // note, you print 5 symbols per line, so j <= 5, not j < 5
if (i > 1 && i < n && j != n && j > i) // for lines 2 and 3 indexes [3-4] and [4] print space, print * for symbol #5 (last symbol in a line is always *)
{
cout << " ";
}
else
{
cout << "*";
}
}
cout << endl;
}
return 0;
}

Answer 2

i=1;i<5;
This runs 4 times. i=1,i=2,i=3,i=4.
You either need i<6 or i<=5

Answer 3

In an effort to make the "shortest, cleanest C++ code," you could do it all in a single loop:
int n = 10; //input
std::cout << std::string(n, '*') << std::endl; //First line
for (int i = 2; i < n; i++)
std::cout << std::string(i, '*');
<< std::string(n - i - 1, ' ')
<< '*' << std::endl;

Answer 4

The Issue is that "" does not register a space, " " will though.
int main()
{
int i, j, k;
for (i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
for (j = 0; j < 5; j++) {
if (i == 0 || i == 3)
{
cout << "*";
}
else if (i == 1) {
if (j == 2 || j == 3) {
cout << " ";
}
else {
cout << "*";
}
}
else if (i == 2) {
if (j == 3) {
cout << " ";
}
else {
cout << "*";
}
}
}
cout << endl;
}
return 0;
}

Answer 5

here's a solution in python. you should be able to extrapolate from that into C++
N = 10
print('*' * N)
for row in range(2, N+1):
print('*' * row, end='')
print(' ' * (N-row -1), end='')
print('*')
here's a solution in C++, which does the exact same thing but is longer than the python solution. I gave the python solution first because I believed it shows the thought process more cleanly than the C++ counterpart.
int N = 10;
for(int i=0 ; i<N ; ++i)
cout << '*';
cout << endl;
for (int row = 2; row < N; ++row) {
for(int i=0 ; i<row ; ++i)
cout << "*";
for(int i=row ; i<N-1; ++i)
cout << ' ';
cout << '*' << endl;
}
this is the output for N=10
**********
** *
*** *
**** *
***** *
****** *
******* *
******** *
**********