Right-Aligned Reverse Alphabet Pyramid in C

What You’ll Learn

Companion to Program 22: same fixed-width grid (two spaces for padding + %2c for letters), but each row prints a reverse alphabet slice from the top letter down to the current row letter. Use a monospace terminal so columns stay aligned. Compare Program 20 (right-aligned reverse without fixed-width cells). Includes a live preview, worked C examples, edge cases, and complexity.

📝 Problem & Approach

Given a top letter (or fixed E), print a right-aligned pyramid of reverse alphabet slices ending at A.

// Five rows (monospace; each cell is width 2)
//         E
//       E D
//     E D C
//   E D C B
// E D C B A

Inputs & Outputs

Minimal workflow

for i from top down to 'A':
    for j from 'A' to (i - 1):
        print two spaces
    for j from top down to i:
        print j with width 2
    print newline

Approach comparison

🔮 Live Preview

Choose a top letter from A to F and draw the right-aligned reverse pyramid in the browser (monospace cells).

Press "Draw pattern".

Examples Gallery

Three complete C programs — fixed A–E, scanf top letter, and an int-index style. Click View Output to reveal sample console results.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char i, j;

    for (i = 'E'; i >= 'A'; --i) {
        for (j = 'A'; j < i; ++j) {
            printf("  ");
        }
        for (j = 'E'; j >= i; --j) {
            printf("%2c", j);
        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

        E
      E D
    E D C
  E D C B
E D C B A

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char top, i, j;

    printf("Enter the top letter (like E): ");
    scanf(" %c", &top);

    for (i = top; i >= 'A'; --i) {
        for (j = 'A'; j < i; ++j) {
            printf("  ");
        }
        for (j = top; j >= i; --j) {
            printf("%2c", j);
        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

Enter the top letter (like E): C
    C
  C B
C B A

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    char top = 'E';
    int n = top - 'A' + 1;
    int row, s, k;

    for (row = 1; row <= n; ++row) {
        for (s = 0; s < n - row; ++s) {
            printf("  ");
        }
        for (k = 0; k < row; ++k) {
            printf("%2c", (char)(top - k));
        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

        E
      E D
    E D C
  E D C B
E D C B A

🔎 Worked Walkthrough — Top = E

Trace each row’s pads, reverse slice, and printed line.

Row count = top - 'A' + 1 (5 for E). Each cell is 2 columns wide.

🎯 Practice Problems

Try these variations to lock in the pattern.

Notes

⏱️ Time and Space Complexity

Each of n rows does O(n) pad + letter work, so total work is O(n²).

💡 Best Practices