Print multiple lines output in java without using a new line character

Question

this is one of the interview question. I am supposed to print multiple lines of output on command line, without using the newline(\n) character in java. I tried googling for this, didn't find appropriate answers. If i am printing 5 numbers, then it should print in the following fashion. But I am not supposed to use the newline character nor loops either. I have to print this using a single println() statement. Can you give me some ideas ? Thanks !

Why can't you use \n? Because it's platform dependant or...? — Perry Monschau
– Perry Monschau, Commented Mar 19, 2012 at 12:52
possible duplicate of Java: How do I get a platform independent new line character? — oers
– oers, Commented Mar 19, 2012 at 12:53
When interviews are turned into trivia contests, everyone loses. Just what is knowing that particular piece of information supposed to indicate one way or the other? I'm not criticizing you for wanting to know - you didn't create the question - but I'm afraid my own reaction is "I don't know and I don't care". Are carriage return/linefeed characters allowed? You could put those between each numbers and meet the (stupid) requirements as given. — arcy
– arcy, Commented Mar 19, 2012 at 12:54
@PerryMonschau, I don't know why I can't use \n, was wondering if it is possible to print that without using \n. — Rakesh
– Rakesh, Commented Mar 19, 2012 at 12:56
@rcook, its not about meeting the (stupid) requirement. I wanted to know if it there is a way to do this. But "I don't know and I don't care" reaction doesn't give any answers, does it ? — Rakesh
– Rakesh, Commented Mar 19, 2012 at 12:58

Zack Marrapese · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 12:55:55Z

5

You can do it recursively:

public void foo(int currNum) {
  if (currNum > 5) 
    return;
  println(currNum);
  foo(currNum + 1);
}

Then you are only using a single println and you aren't using a for or while loop.

answered Mar 19, 2012 at 12:55

Zack Marrapese

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2 Comments

root Over a year ago

Technically, recursive functions are loops, because you can think of them as: while (!satisfied) {satisfied = something(argtuple); callStack.push(argtuple); argtuple = somethingElse(argtuple)}; while ((argtuple = callstack.pop()) != null) {wrapupStuff(argtuple)};

root Over a year ago

@Zack Oh, I know my comment's not relevant to the question. That's why my comment is: (a) not in response to the question, but the answer, and (b) a comment, not a proposed answer. It just feels strange that this probably is a good answer to the question. Basically, this answer being accepted means the question can be restated 'How could you obfuscate a call to println?', which is a very silly question. No disrespect to your answer, though. It's a solid answer.

SimonSez · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 12:57:02Z

4

If you're just not allowed of using \n and println() then you can get the systems line.separator, e.g.

String h = "Hello" + System.getProperty("line.separator") + "World!"

Hope this helped, have Fun!

answered Mar 19, 2012 at 12:57

SimonSez

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1 Comment

Rakesh Over a year ago

your answer is also helpful. Thanks.

Mister Smith · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 13:02:15Z

2

Ok, now I think I understand your question. What about this?

println(String.format("%d%n%d%n%d%n%d%n%d%n", 1, 2, 3, 4, 5));

answered Mar 19, 2012 at 13:02

Mister Smith

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Comments

anubhava · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 13:03:38Z

2

One way is this: Platform Independent

final String EOL = System.getProperty("line.separator");
System.out.println('1' + EOL + '2' + EOL + '3' + EOL + '4' + EOL + '5');

This is Platform Dependent

char eol = (char) 13;
System.out.println("" + '1' + eol + '2' + eol + '3' + eol + '4');

edited Mar 19, 2012 at 13:03

answered Mar 19, 2012 at 12:58

anubhava

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Comments

wattostudios · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 13:06:17Z

There are many ways to achieve this...

One alternative to using '\n' is to output the byte value for the character. So, an example to print out your list of the numbers 1-5 in your example...

char line = (char)10;
System.out.println("1" + line+ "2" + line+ "3" + line + "4" + line+ "5");

You could also build a byte[] array or char[] array and output that...

char line = (char)10;
char[] output = new char[9]{'1',line,'2',line,'3',line,'4',line,'5'};
System.out.println(new String(output));

Thomas · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 13:50:06Z

1

Probably cheating based on the requirements, but technically only 1 println statement and no loops.

public int recursivePrint(int number)
{
  if (number >=5 )
    return number;
  else
    System.out.println(recursivePrint(number++));
}

edited Mar 19, 2012 at 13:50

answered Mar 19, 2012 at 12:56

Thomas

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1 Comment

Jean-François Corbett Over a year ago

Whoops! Is this really recursive?

Perry Monschau · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 13:05:31Z

0

No loops, 1 println call, +flexibility:

public static void main (String[] args) {
    print(5);
}

final String newLine = System.getProperty("line.separator");
public void print(int fin) {
    System.out.println(printRec("",1,fin));
}
private String printRec(String s, int start, int fin) {
    if(start > fin)
        return s;
    s += start + newLine;
    return printRec(s, start+1, fin);
}

answered Mar 19, 2012 at 13:05

Perry Monschau

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Comments

Chandra Sekhar · Accepted Answer · 2012-03-19 13:08:26Z

0

The ASCII value of new Line is 10. So use this

char line = 10;
System.out.print("1" + line + "2" + line ......);

answered Mar 19, 2012 at 13:08

Chandra Sekhar

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Comments

erakitin · Accepted Answer · 2014-12-17 09:41:44Z

0

ANSI terminal escape codes can do the trick.

Aside: Since System.out is a PrintStream, it may not be able to support the escape codes.

However, you can define your own println(msg) function, and make one call to that. Might be cheating, but unless they explicitly say System.out.println, you're golden (hell, even if they do, you can define your own object named System in the local scope using a class defined outside your function, give it a field out with a function println(msg) and you're still scot-free).

edited Dec 17, 2014 at 9:41

erakitin

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answered Jun 27, 2013 at 20:27

root

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