Question

Consider the following code segment. for (int a = 0; a < 10; a++) { for (int b = 10; b > a; b--) { System.out.print("#"); } } How many "#" symbols are printed as a result of executing the code segment?

Answer 1

Answer:

55

Explanation:

Given the codes as below:

1.        for (int a = 0; a < 10; a++)
2.        {
3.            for (int b = 10; b > a; b--)
4.            {
5.                System.out.print("#");
6.            }
7.        }

There are two layer loops in the code. The outer loop (Line 1) will run for 10 iterations by traversing through a = 0 to a=9. However, the inner loop  (Line 3) will run for 10 + 9 +  8 + 7 +...+ 1 = 55 iterations.

Since the print statement is within the inner loop (Line 5) and therefore the number of printed "#" symbols is dependent on the number of iterations of the inner loop. There will be 55 "#" symbols printed.