Unwanted blank line in python output

Question

For class I am supposed to write a code that output asterisk in the form of a number 8. I don’t understand what is wrong with my code and it adds a new line at the start, but in this challenge.

So, the expected output is supposed to look like this:

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

While my code looks like this:

for i in range(0,5):
    print()
    for j in range(0,5):
        if i%2==0:
            print("*",end='')        
        else:
            if j==0 or j==4:                
                print("*",end='')
            else:
                print(" ",end='')

but my output adds a new line at the start( so it looks like the expected output with an extra new line) then prints the rest of the code as intended.

please help.

Asked By: Please Help

||

Source

Answer 1

You are starting with a blank line, and shouldn’t

You could change this line:

print()

to:

if i>0:
    print()

So that the code, with correct indenting, becomes:

for i in range(0,5):
    if i>0:
        print()
    for j in range(0,5):
        if i%2==0:
            print("*",end='')        
        elif j==0 or j==4:                
            print("*",end='')
        else:
            print(" ",end='')

Alternatively, you could move the printing of () to the end of the for i loop, so that it would no longer need to be in an if. That is a little more conventional, since it finishes the output with a newline.

for i in range(0,5):
    for j in range(0,5):
        if i%2==0:
            print("*",end='')        
        elif j==0 or j==4:                
            print("*",end='')
        else:
            print(" ",end='')
    print() # <----- No `if`, if you place this `print()` here instead.

Answered By: ProfDFrancis

Answer 2

The print() call should be at the bottom of the loop, not the top, so you don’t print a blank line at the beginning.

for i in range(0,5):
    for j in range(0,5):
        if i%2==0:
            print("*",end='')        
        else:
            if j==0 or j==4:                
                print("*",end='')
            else:
                print(" ",end='')
    print()

You can also do it without the nested loop, since there are just two strings to print, they don’t need to be created dynamically.

for i in range(5):
    if i % 2 == 0:
        print("*****")
    else:
        print("*   *")

Answered By: Barmar

Unwanted blank line in python output

Question:

Answers:

You are starting with a blank line, and shouldn’t