Foundations Loops through pattern printing
25. Hollow Square
Medium
Given an integer n, return the pattern below as a list of strings, one string per row, top row first.
*****
* *
* *
* *
*****
That is the pattern for n = 5. The square has n rows, and every row is n characters wide. The cells on
the border are stars (*): the first row, the last row, the first column and the last column. Every other
cell is a space.
Example 1
Input: n = 4
Output:
**** * * * * ****
Explanation: The two middle rows have a star at each end and 2 spaces inside.
Example 2
Input: n = 1
Output:
*Example 3
Input: n = 2
Output:
** **
Explanation: Every cell of a 2 × 2 square is on the border.
Check your understanding
Work out the answer for this input before you write any code.
n = 3
Constraints
1 ≤ n ≤ 100
Clarifying questions
What you would ask an interviewer before writing any code.