Print a Square Star Pattern in C

To print a square star pattern in C, we use nested loops: an outer loop to handle the rows and an inner loop to print the stars in each row. This ensures that we get a perfect square shape, with each row containing the same number of stars as the number of rows.

Examples to Print a Square Star Pattern

1. Print a Simple Square Star Pattern

In this example, we will print a square star pattern of a fixed size (5×5). We will use nested loops, where the outer loop controls the number of rows and the inner loop prints stars in each row.

main.c

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#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int size = 5; // Define the size of the square

    for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) { // Loop for rows
        for (int j = 0; j < size; j++) { // Loop for columns
            printf("* ");
        }
        printf("\n"); // Move to the next line
    }

    return 0;
}

Explanation:

  1. We declare an integer variable size and set it to 5, which defines the size of the square.
  2. The outer loop (for (int i = 0; i < size; i++)) runs 5 times, creating 5 rows.
  3. The inner loop (for (int j = 0; j < size; j++)) runs 5 times per row, printing 5 stars.
  4. The printf("\n") moves the cursor to the next line after printing a full row.

Output:

* * * * * 
* * * * * 
* * * * * 
* * * * * 
* * * * *

2. Print a Square Star Pattern with User Input

In this example, we will modify the program to take the size of the square as user input. This allows the user to print a square of any desired dimension.

main.c

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#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int size;

    printf("Enter the size of the square: ");
    scanf("%d", &size); // Take input from user

    for (int i = 0; i < size; i++) { // Loop for rows
        for (int j = 0; j < size; j++) { // Loop for columns
            printf("* ");
        }
        printf("\n"); // Move to the next line
    }

    return 0;
}

Explanation:

  1. We declare an integer variable size to store the user’s input.
  2. The scanf("%d", &size) function takes the size from the user.
  3. The nested loops work the same way as before, using the inputted size for both rows and columns.
  4. The program prints a square of the given size.

Output:

Enter the size of the square:

Enter an integer value. Let us enter 3.

Enter the size of the square: 3
* * * 
* * * 
* * *

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we covered different ways to print a square star pattern in C:

  1. Fixed Size Square Pattern: Using nested loops to print a predefined 5×5 square.
  2. Dynamic Size Square Pattern: Taking user input to print a square of any size.

The key concept is using for loops, where the outer loop handles the rows, and the inner loop prints the stars in each row.