Thread: 2D Array with Strings

The lab I got from my teacher is supposed to be a 2D array. We're supposed to be using it to where it reads the strings from the file, and then it prints them out in an hour glass form like this:

HELLO
E L
L
E L
HELLO

This is my code so far, I just don't know how in the heck to get it to read string the strings from a file, then convert it to a char matrix, or any of that. If anyone could please explain and help me with my code, I'd highly appreciate it.

import java.io.*;
import java.util.Scanner;
 
public class Pattern
{
	public static void main(String args[]) throws FileNotFoundException
	{
 
	System.out.println("Enter the path of the file:");
	Scanner kb = new Scanner(System.in);
 
	String path = kb.next();
 
    Scanner file = new Scanner(new File(path));
 
    String s = file.next();
 
	int start = 0;
	int q = 1;
 
 
 
	for(int r = 1; r <= s.length()-2; r++){
		for(int c = 0; c < s.length()-start; c++){
			if(c < start)
				System.out.print(" ");
			else
				System.out.print(((c - start) % 2 == 0) ? " " : s.charAt(c));
}
        System.out.println();
        start += q;
        if(start==s.length()/2){
    	    start -= q;
    	    start--;
    	    q *= -1;
        }
	}
 
	System.out.println(s);
}
}

how in the heck to get it to read string the strings from a file,

Your code uses next() to read one word from the file. Are all the words on the same line or is each word on a separate line? If on separate lines you should use the nextLine() method to read them.

convert it to a char matrix

Can you explain what you mean by a char matrix? Given the String: "HELLO" what would a char matrix look like for that word?

Look at the pattern that you printed out that the program is supposed to generate. Replace the letters in the word with numbers so you can easily see what is printed on each line. The double Ls might confuse you. Using numbers should make it very clear what goes on each line.

What happens when you execute your code?