Question

You’ve probably seen it before in a Java 1 class: it’s a problem that asks you write a program that draws the following figure:

I have to use a constant. I am not allowed to use anything but for-loops, print, and println. No parameters, no arrays. I know how I could do it with parameters and arrays, lucky me. Any help is appreciated!

Here is my incomplete code:

public class Stairs {
    public static final int LENGTH=5;

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        printStairs();
    }

    public static void printStairs() {
        for (int allStairs=1; allStairs<=15; allStairs++) {
            for (int spaces=1; spaces<=(-5*allStairs+30); spaces++) {
                System.out.print(" ");
            }
            for (int stair = 1; stair <= 5; stair++) {
                System.out.println("  o  *******");

            }
        }
    }
}

Answer 1

This sounds like a homework question, so I don’t just want to give you the answer, but try breaking it down into steps. Think about the things that you know:

1) Every stickman has this shape:

  o  ******
 /|\ *     
 / \ *     

2) You can print this out using the following code:

System.out.println("  o  ******");
System.out.println(" /|\ *     ");
System.out.println(" / \ *     ");

3) You can print multiple by using a loop:

for (int stair = 1; stair <= LENGTH; stair++) {
    System.out.println("  o  ******");
    System.out.println(" /|\ *     ");
    System.out.println(" / \ *     ");
}

Think about what kind of output this would give you, and what needs to be changed. Realize that each stickman needs to be indented a certain amount. Figure out how to indent them appropriately based on the value of stair.