#0214

Hollow Square Pattern

MediumPython25 min20 XP

Problem

Return an n by n hollow square pattern as a list of strings using "*" for border and spaces inside.

Why This Matters

Hollow patterns are useful because they force you to separate boundary cells from interior cells.

Function Signature

def hollow_square(n):

Examples

Example 1

Inputn = 4

Output["****", "* *", "* *", "****"]

Only the first row, last row, first column, and last column are stars.

Constraints

Return the exact requested value.
Handle small edge cases cleanly.
Prefer readable Python over clever shortcuts.

CodePython

def hollow_square(n):
    """
    Input example: n = 4
    Return: ["****", "*  *", "*  *", "****"]
    For pattern problems, return a list of rows. Do not print the rows.
    """
    # write your code here
    return []

def hollow_square(n):
    """
    Input example: n = 4
    Return: ["****", "*  *", "*  *", "****"]
    For pattern problems, return a list of rows. Do not print the rows.
    """
    # write your code here
    return []

Visible browser tests run here when available.

Testcases1 visible / 3 hidden categories

Core example

Inputn = 4

Expected["****", "* *", "* *", "****"]

Only the first row, last row, first column, and last column are stars.

Hidden Test Categories

n = 1n = 2n = 5