Creating a basic loop program in java

Question

I'm working on a program for school. The program asks the user for an in put number between 1-20. The program then outputs a square made of asterisks that corresponds with the number entered. for example :
2 =
3 =
This is what I have so far, but I don't know how to create a straight line of asterisks for an input number of 3 or higher
public class square {
* @param args the command line arguments
public static void main(String[] args)
Scanner input = new Scanner( System.in);
int number = 0;
System.out.print( "Enter a number between 1 and 20\t" );
number = input.nextInt();
if (number <1)
System.out.printf( " Number must be greater than 0 ");
if (number >20)
System.out.printf(" Number must not be greater than 20");
if (number ==1)
System.out.printf("*");
if (number ==2)
System.out.println ("**\n**");
if (number >= 3)
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Edited by: Methodx on Jan 22, 2009 9:24 PM

Answer 1

You would need two for loops .
In the inner loop , print either an asterix or a space based on wheter the point ur considering is on the edge of the square or inside the square.
In the outer loop , skip to the next line.
(0,0)    (0,1)    (0,2)     (0,3)
(1,0)    (1,1)    (1,2)     (1,3)
(2,0)    (2,1)    (2,2)     (2,3)
(3,0)    (3,1)    (3,2)     (3,3)You can work out the condition to be used in the inner loop ( to wheter print an asterix or a space) by studying the values of the loop variables at the edge of the square.