Cross Pattern with * and 0 in C

Beginner
⏱️ 5 min read
📚 Updated: Aug 2025
🎯 2 Code Examples
Conditions + Loops
Cross pattern output using asterisks and zeros in C programming

What You’ll Learn

How to print a cross/X pattern using * and 0 in C. We’ll use nested loops to scan each row/column and a simple if condition to decide whether to print * or 0.

⭐ Pattern Output

For rows = 4 and cols = 9, the pattern looks like this:

Output
*000*000*
0*00*00*0
00*0*0*00
000***000
1

Complete C Program (Fixed Size)

We print * on the two diagonals and the center column; everything else is 0.

c
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int i, j;

    for (i = 1; i <= 4; i++) {
        for (j = 1; j <= 9; j++) {
            if (j == i || j == 5 || j == 10 - i)
                printf("*");
            else
                printf("0");
        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

🧠 How It Works

1

Loop through rows

The outer loop for (i = 1; i <= 4; i++) prints each row.

Row control
2

Loop through columns

The inner loop for (j = 1; j <= 9; j++) visits each column in the row.

Column control
3

Decide what to print

We print * when the cell is on a diagonal or on the center column:

j == i, j == 5, or j == 10 - i.

Condition
4

Print zeros elsewhere

If none of those conditions match, we print 0 to fill the background.

Fill
=

Cross/X pattern

This pattern is a great exercise for combining nested loops with multi-condition checks.

2

Variation — User Input Version

Make it scalable by reading rows and cols and computing the center column dynamically.

c
#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int i, j;
    int rows, cols;

    printf("Enter the number of rows: ");
    scanf("%d", &rows);
    printf("Enter the number of columns: ");
    scanf("%d", &cols);

    for (i = 1; i <= rows; i++) {
        for (j = 1; j <= cols; j++) {
            if (j == i || j == (cols + 1) / 2 || j == cols + 1 - i)
                printf("*");
            else
                printf("0");
        }
        printf("\n");
    }

    return 0;
}

💡 Tips for Enhancement

Try These

  • Replace * and 0 with custom characters (e.g., X and .)
  • Use user input and enforce odd cols for a clear center column
  • Make thicker lines by printing * when abs(j - i) <= 1 (and similarly for the other diagonal)

Avoid

  • Using an even cols value if you want a single clear center column
  • Forgetting printf("\n") after each row
  • Mixing up the right diagonal formula (it should mirror the left)

Key Takeaways

1

Nested loops let you visit every cell in a grid (row by row, column by column).

2

The cross is formed by combining three conditions in one if.

3

For a general version, compute the center column as (cols + 1) / 2.

4

Time complexity is proportional to the grid size: O(rows * cols).

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

The diagonals: j == i (left) and j == cols + 1 - i (right).
Use an odd number of columns and compute the center with (cols + 1) / 2.
Yes. Replace printf("0") with printf(" ") for a hollow background.
O(rows * cols), since each grid cell is processed once.

Explore More C Number Patterns!

Keep practicing nested loops and conditions with new patterns.

All Number Patterns →
Did you know?

When cols is odd, the center column is exactly (cols + 1) / 2. This makes patterns with a vertical middle line easier to generalize.

About the author

Mari Selvan M P
Mari Selvan M P 🔗

Developer, cloud engineer, and technical writer

  • Experience 12 years building web and cloud systems
  • Focus Full Stack Development, AWS, and Developer Education

I write practical tutorials so students and working developers can learn by doing—from databases and APIs to deployment on AWS.

AWS Certified Developer – Associate (Credly)

12 people found this page helpful

C Number Pattern 44 C Number Pattern 46