Beginner C# hw help!!

[aaron1262]

can someone please help me with my hw?

im currently taking a beginners C# course and need some pointers on the hw. I have a very hard nosed instructor that refuses to give much help..

the objective is to get a "mountain of alphabet" given the inputs and he wants us to get the following output:

a
b c
d e f
g h i j
k l m n o
p q r s
t u v
w x
y

Inputs:

Enter a letter between 'a' and 'z':

Enter a positive integer:


Here's what i have so far:
{
char sc = Convert.ToChar(TbxLetter.Text.Trim()[0]);

int n = Convert.ToInt32(TbxInteger.Text);


if (sc < 'a' || sc > 'z')
{
TbxOutput.Text = "Please enter a letter from 'a' to 'z'!!";
return;
}

TbxOutput.Text = "";



int row = 1, col = 1;

for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++)
{
TbxOutput.Text += sc.ToString() + " ";
sc++;
if (sc > 'z') sc = 'a';

if (row == 10) row = 1;

if (col == row)
{
TbxOutput.Text += "\n";
row++;
col = 0;
}

col++;

Here's the Ouput that i get:

a
b c
d e f
g h i j
k l m n o
p q r s
t u v w x
y z a b


what do i need to do to make it continually decrease until it gets to Y and then make it start over again at Z?

any pointers would be helpful

Thanks in advance.

[rocky_upadhaya]

Firstly You need to learn to put your code between tags

Secondly Please make it clear what you want to achive here? If you just have to print the left to right pyramid why do you have to ask a character between a to z and integer?? Please make it clear so that we can understand your problem better......

Now for printing part I suggest you to 2 sets of loops....1 for printing upright pyramid


a
b c
d e f
g h i j
k l m n o
and other for printing upside down pyramid
p q r s
t u v
w x
y
by this way it is easier for to code......if your teacher is not satisfied or you have any problem implementing it please reply here....

[aaron1262]

thanks for the reply im trying to get the following result

a
b c
d e f
g h i j
k l m n o
p q r s
t u v
w x
y
z
a b
c d e etc....

instructions:
Given a letter (‘a’ thru ‘z’), create mountain shapes using letters starting from the letter entered and ensuing letters. The total number of alphabets displayed is specified by the number entered on the user interface.
Validate the user input for no entries, a lower case alphabet, and an integer. In case of invalid input, stop the execution and display the error message.

thanks in advance for any help...

[rliq]

Here is a way of doing it recursively....

        private void Grow(Char currentLetter, Int32 currentHeight, Int32 requiredHeight, Int32 lettersRemaining, ref String pyramid)
        {
            // add the letter to the string and increase the height
            pyramid += currentLetter;
            currentHeight++;

            // we've used up a letter
            lettersRemaining--;

            // exit if we have done
            if (lettersRemaining.Equals(0))
                return;

            // move to the next letter
            if (++currentLetter > 'z')
                currentLetter = 'a';

            // check if we've reached the required height
            if (currentHeight.Equals(requiredHeight))
            {
                // move to the next line and reset the current height
                pyramid += Environment.NewLine;
                currentHeight = 0;

                // check if we have reached the peak of the pyramid
                if (requiredHeight.Equals(5))
                {
                    // start shrinking
                    Shrink(currentLetter, currentHeight, 4, lettersRemaining, ref pyramid);
                    return;
                }
                
                // otherwise we need to go one higher next time
                requiredHeight++;
            }

            // process the next letter
            Grow(currentLetter, currentHeight, requiredHeight, lettersRemaining, ref pyramid);
        }

        private void Shrink(Char currentLetter, Int32 currentHeight, Int32 requiredHeight, Int32 lettersRemaining, ref String pyramid)
        {
            // add the letter to the string and increase the height
            pyramid += currentLetter;
            currentHeight++;

            // we've used up a letter
            lettersRemaining--;

            // exit if we have done
            if (lettersRemaining.Equals(0))
                return;

            // move to the next letter
            if (++currentLetter > 'z')
                currentLetter = 'a';


            // check if we've reached the required height
            if (currentHeight.Equals(requiredHeight))
            {
                // move to the next line and reset the current height
                pyramid += Environment.NewLine;
                currentHeight = 0;

                // check if we have reached the trough of the pyramid
                if (requiredHeight.Equals(1))
                {
                    // start growing
                    Grow(currentLetter, currentHeight, 2, lettersRemaining, ref pyramid);
                    return;
                }

                // otherwise we need to go one lower next time
                requiredHeight--;
            }

            // process the next letter
            Shrink(currentLetter, currentHeight, requiredHeight, lettersRemaining, ref pyramid);
        }

Called like this

            String pyramid = String.Empty;

            // parameters
            // first letter, current height, required height, number of letters, the outputted pyramid
            Grow('a', 0, 1, 80, ref pyramid);

It does not do 2 consecutive rows of height '1' though, as in your example. It goes 1 2 3 4 5 4 3 2 1 2 3...