Print the ASCII table

Question

The task is to display n characters of the ASCII table.

You may write a function (or a program that takes the argument as a parameter, STDIN is allowed as well) that takes a parameter n, which will be the index of the last character to print.

The task is quite simple, so as an example here's a possible implementation in Python 2.7:

(lambda n:map(chr, range(n)))(256)

As I said it's a simple task. So this is code-golf and the shortest codes wins!

EDIT

As some of you pointed out this code doesn't print the result. It's just an example since I might struggle explaining the problem in english ;-).

EDIT2

Feel free to post the answer in any programming language, even if it's not the shortest code. Maybe there are some interesting implementations out there!

EDIT3

Fixed the example so it prints the result.

1. Does it have to be a function? 2. According to your reference code, n would be the first character that is not printed. — Dennis, Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 12:49
Actually the reference code prints nothing. It just returns a list of the characters and lets the REPL do whatever it wants with the result. — manatwork, Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 12:50
Can somebody please explain the downvote? I am sorry if my english isn't that good. If there's something unclear within the question please tell me. — oopbase, Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 12:57
for x in range(input()):print chr(x) Would actually print the characters, if you want to edit your example. — FryAmTheEggman, Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 12:59

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

PowerShell - 20

%{0..$_|%{[char]$_}}

Usage:
56 | %{0..$_|%{[char]$_}}

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 13:34

SomeShinyObject

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\$\begingroup\$ A bit debatable to call a piece of syntax that isn't even valid a program or function ;-) (you cannot use ForEach-Object standalone like that). The function part of that is the script block, but it won't ever work as a function, because the context ($_) is provided by ForEach-Object. You can shorten it a bit by casting the range to an array, by the way. \$\endgroup\$
– Joey
Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 7:32

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William Barbosa · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-28 15:36:01Z

1

Ruby - 35 33 bytes

Please note that I can't Ruby at all:

$*[0].to_i.times{|i|puts i.chr()}

edited Oct 28, 2014 at 15:36

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 13:27

William Barbosa

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1

\$\begingroup\$ As far as I know there is an alias for "puts" that is simply "p". So -3 bytes if that's correct? \$\endgroup\$
– oopbase
Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 13:28
2

\$\begingroup\$ @Forlan07, not really an alias. p is equivalent to puts whatever.inspect. \$\endgroup\$
– manatwork
Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 13:36
\$\begingroup\$ @manatwork OK, nice to know :-) \$\endgroup\$
– oopbase
Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 13:39
\$\begingroup\$ This prints every character on a separate line. Shouldn't it be print? \$\endgroup\$
– user344
Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 13:48
\$\begingroup\$ Fixed and 3 bytes shorter: puts (0..$*[0]).map(&:chr)*'' \$\endgroup\$
– user344
Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 13:51

| Show 1 more comment

Kasran · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-28 19:06:57Z

1

Befunge-98, 26 20

0&;1-::0`j;;,$>:#,_@

~~It's longer than the other Befunge-98 answer, but it's not self-modifying and only uses one line. (Also, the pointer only moves to the right until it gets to the print loop.)~~

This is shorter now. Also, it's still not self-modifying. Hooray, jumping trickery!

edited Oct 28, 2014 at 19:06

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 18:43

Kasran

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

If I'm allowed to have another answer in a different language, here goes...

Pascal: 91 bytes

PROGRAM A;VAR i,n:Integer;BEGIN
n:=0;readln(n);FOR i:=0 TO n DO
Write(chr(i));readln;END.

(just for kicks, really, I haven't messed in Pascal in ages)

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 20:41

Rodolfo Dias

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7

\$\begingroup\$ Posting multiple answers is perfectly fine. \$\endgroup\$
– Dennis
Commented Oct 28, 2014 at 20:55
\$\begingroup\$ @Dennis is well aware of this. Just check all the questions he's answered \$\endgroup\$
– caird coinheringaahin g ♦
Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 22:00
\$\begingroup\$ You can re‑use your input/length variable n as the counter variable in the for-loop: program p(input,output);var n:integer;begin read(n);for n:=1 to n do write(chr(n))end. \$\endgroup\$
– Kai Burghardt
Commented Nov 5, 2022 at 18:25

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Blacklight Shining · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-28 21:32:21Z

1

Python 3 — 51 bytes

lambda n:sys.stdout.buffer.write(bytes(range(n+1)))

This is a variation of a line I keep in my shell history for when I need to refer to the ASCII table.

It first calls range(), passing n + 1 as the sole argument. When used like this, range() returns an iterable of integers between 0 (inclusive) and the argument (exclusive—hence the need for the +1). The iterable is then passed to bytes(), which returns a bytestring, interpreting each integer as one byte. The bytestring is then written directly to the buffer for stdout (passing it to sys.stdout.write() or print() would result in an exception; those accept strings, not bytestrings).

Note that n must not be greater than 255. If it is, bytes() will raise an exception, because values greater than 255 do not fit in a single byte.

Also note that this doesn't bind the function to a name. I'm assuming that's acceptable, given that it does still create the function.

edited Oct 28, 2014 at 21:32

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 21:26

Blacklight Shining

1706 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ 1. There's no need for all of that: lambda n:print(str(bytes(range(n+1)))) is just 38 characters. 2. If you go with your current method, you need to include import sys. \$\endgroup\$
– Beta Decay
Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 15:18
\$\begingroup\$ Actually, just lambda n:print(bytes(range(n+1))) works perfectly well. \$\endgroup\$
– Beta Decay
Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 15:20

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user344user344 · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-29 13:42:35Z

1

LiveScript - 47

f=->alert String.fromCharCode.apply(,[0 to it])

answered Oct 29, 2014 at 13:42

user344

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Victor Duarte da Silva · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-29 18:02:36Z

1

Haskell - 16 22 characters

(`take`['\0'..])

Edit

Now printing the result

print.(`take`['\0'..])

edited Oct 29, 2014 at 18:02

answered Oct 29, 2014 at 7:10

Victor Duarte da Silva

112 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ nice trick to get rid of a character \$\endgroup\$
– John Dvorak
Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 9:32
\$\begingroup\$ This doesn't actually print the result. \$\endgroup\$
– user344
Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 15:20
\$\begingroup\$ @JanDvorak he pretty much removed the space, as (``) does the same thing as flip here, in just as many characters... \$\endgroup\$
– archaephyrryx
Commented Oct 29, 2014 at 15:57

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Koopakiller · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-29 23:11:09Z

1

F# - 66 characters

[<EntryPoint>]
let m a=
 for x in char 0..a.[0].[0]do printfn"%c"x
 0

answered Oct 29, 2014 at 23:11

Koopakiller

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

PowerShell, 20

[char[]](0.."$args")

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Oct 30, 2014 at 7:04

Joey

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Dexa · Accepted Answer · 2014-10-31 09:02:19Z

1

PHP - 36

If PHP Notice are set to off then this:

<? for(;$i<$argv[1];)echo chr($i++);

PHP - 42

Otherwise:

<? for($i=0;$i<$argv[1];$i++)echo chr($i);

edited Oct 31, 2014 at 9:02

answered Oct 29, 2014 at 17:16

Dexa

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\$\begingroup\$ I think you can remove the PHP tag. JS answers typically don't include script tags, either. \$\endgroup\$
– Ingo Bürk
Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 7:19
\$\begingroup\$ OK, ty. First post so not sure how it goes :) \$\endgroup\$
– Dexa
Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 9:49
\$\begingroup\$ @IngoBürk That may be because Node.js doesn't need any script tags. You need <?php (or <? if short tags are enabled) for any PHP script, though. \$\endgroup\$
– user344
Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:12
\$\begingroup\$ @nyuszika7h Node doesn't support ES6 and yet ES6 answers don't include tags. \$\endgroup\$
– Ingo Bürk
Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:17
\$\begingroup\$ I don't see your point. It does have partial support via --harmony, but that doesn't have to be counted unless perhaps the answer relies on Node-specific APIs. Script tags are just a way to include JavaScript in a HTML file, on the other hand even standalone PHP scripts need an opening tag or they won't work. \$\endgroup\$
– user344
Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:19

| Show 6 more comments

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

Rebol - 35 34

for n 0 do input 1[prin to-char n]

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 19:43

draegtun

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Memming · Accepted Answer · 2015-06-10 15:46:35Z

1

MATLAB: 13 bytes

@(n)char(0:n)

This is an anonymous function that prints the string.

MATLAB: 17 bytes

This one takes STDIN.

char(0:input(''))

I think these are pretty short for a non-golf language. :)

answered Jun 10, 2015 at 15:46

Memming

1635 bronze badges

1

\$\begingroup\$ The standard tips for casting to chars when golfing in MATLAB / Octave: @(n)[0:n,'']. =) Saves you a byte! \$\endgroup\$
– Stewie Griffin
Commented Jan 12, 2016 at 14:18

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-13 12:39:17Z

1

C# - 65 63 52

c=>{for(var i='\0';i<=c;)System.Console.Write(i++);}

Inspired by Java solution

Usage:

public class Program
{
    public static void Main()
    {
        new System.Action<char>(c => {for(var i='\0';i<=c;)System.Console.Write(i++);})((char)255);
    }
}

Thanks to Martin for the help.

edited Apr 13, 2017 at 12:39

CommunityBot

1

answered Jun 10, 2015 at 13:38

pmudra

1616 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ You can probably save two bytes by a) using var instead of char and b) by doing ...Write(i++) and leaving the third section of the for statement empty. \$\endgroup\$
– Martin Ender
Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 13:43
\$\begingroup\$ I just saw a python solution using lambdas. So would this be a valid solution: c=>{for(var i='\0';i<=c;)System.Console.Write(i++);}? \$\endgroup\$
– pmudra
Commented Jun 11, 2015 at 8:46
\$\begingroup\$ I'm not very familiar with C#'s lambdas, but I think so. \$\endgroup\$
– Martin Ender
Commented Jun 11, 2015 at 12:45

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ninjalj · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-30 18:36:22Z

1

x86 DOS (11 bytes)

Takes parameter in CL

-u100
07AD:0100 mov ah,02
07AD:0102 cwd
07AD:0103 int 21
07AD:0105 inc dx
07AD:0106 cmp dl,cl
07AD:0108 jb 103
07AD:010A ret
07AD:010B

answered Oct 30, 2015 at 18:36

ninjalj

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DLosc · Accepted Answer · 2015-10-31 06:24:07Z

1

Pip, 3 bytes (not competing)

The language is newer than the question, but happens to do very well with it:

C,a

a is the first command-line argument. The unary range operator , constructs a range of all numbers 0 <= n < a. Finally, C converts them to characters. The resulting list is autoprinted, by default without any delimiter. Works into Unicode range too!

answered Oct 31, 2015 at 6:24

DLosc

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Hotkeys · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-05 02:26:56Z

1

Perl 6, 25 22 bytes

put (^@*ARGS[0])».chr

edited Feb 5, 2016 at 2:26

answered Oct 31, 2015 at 6:51

Hotkeys

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Roujo · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-05 18:21:12Z

1

F#, 43 bytes

fun n->Seq.iter(printf"%c")['\x00'..char n]

That is...

fun n->                                     // A function that takes n
                           ['\x00'..char n] // Generates a list of chars from NUL to n
       Seq.iter(          )                 // For each one,
                printf"%c"                  // Print it!

I tried using \0 for NUL, but it doesn't work in F#. I couldn't get it under 4 characters, in any case. =P

answered Feb 5, 2016 at 18:21

Roujo

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

Java, 125 bytes

class M{public static void main(String[]a){p(256);}static void p(int l){int i=-1;for(;i++<l;){System.out.println((char)i);}}}

Simply puts in the number of characters to print from the ascii table @ p(n) where n is the number of characters.

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 15:35

Aaron C

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Neil · Accepted Answer · 2016-02-07 20:41:44Z

1

ES6, 42 bytes

Sorry for the necro.

n=>String.fromCharCode(...Array(n).keys())

If you need it as a program, 54 bytes:

alert(String.fromCharCode(...Array(+prompt()).keys()))

However for some reason I can't get the above to work as a Stack Snippet.

answered Feb 7, 2016 at 20:41

Neil

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

Lua, 37 Bytes

a=...for i=1,a do print(a.char(i))end

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Jul 22, 2016 at 9:13

Katenkyo

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zamnuts · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-15 07:21:42Z

1

PHP - 47 bytes

<?=join(array_map('chr',range(0,$argv[1])));

Usage:

php ascii.php n

edited Dec 15, 2016 at 7:21

answered Oct 28, 2014 at 22:38

zamnuts

2831 silver badge4 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ join does the same as implode and is 3 bytes shorter. \$\endgroup\$
– Titus
Commented Dec 14, 2016 at 13:20
\$\begingroup\$ @Titus good catch, updated! \$\endgroup\$
– zamnuts
Commented Dec 15, 2016 at 7:21

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redstarcoder · Accepted Answer · 2016-12-15 13:50:27Z

><>, 14 bytes

0:o1+:r:@=?;$!

Try it here!

Explanation

0              push 0 to the stack                [n, 0]
 :             duplicate the top value            [n, 0, 0]
  o            output it                          [n, 0]
   1+          add one                            [n, 1]
     :         duplicate top value                [n, 1, 1]
      r        reverse the stack                  [1, 1, n]
       :       duplicate the top value again      [1, 1, n, n]
        @      move the top value back twice      [1, n, 1, n]
         =?;   pop top two values, if equal, end  [1, n]
            $  swap top two stack values          [n, 1]
             ! skip next instruction (0)

or

0:o1+$1-:?!;$!

Try it here!

Explanation

0              push 0 to the stack                [n, 0]
 :             duplicate the top value            [n, 0, 0]
  o            output it                          [n, 0]
   1+          add one                            [n, 1]
     $         swap top two values                [1, n]
      1-       subtract one                       [1, n-1]
        :      duplicate top value                [1, n-1, n-1]
         ?!;   if n is 0, end                     [1, n-1]
            $  swap top two stack values          [n-1, 1]
             ! skip next instruction (0)

For both simply place n on the stack and the result will be outputted.

Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

SmileBASIC, 31 bytes

INPUT N
FOR I=.TO N?CHR$(I)NEXT

. is read as 0.0, and I could have just used 0 in this case, but . looks cooler.

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Jan 24, 2017 at 5:04

12Me21

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

PHP, 35 34 bytes

<?=join(range(a^a,chr($argv[1])));

yup. PHP can create a range of characters.

Takes argument from command line. Save to file, execute.

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Dec 14, 2016 at 13:18

Titus

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Riley · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-15 13:17:44Z

1

J, 8 bytes

f=:{.&a.

Explanation:

f=:{.&a.
f=:      define a function f
      a. the ascii sequence
     &   attach it to the next operator
   {.    take the first n items of
         you'll notice I don't say how many,
         that's because in J you can leave blanks and the interpreter fills them in

edited Mar 15, 2017 at 13:17

Riley

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answered Mar 15, 2017 at 12:59

Bijan

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\$\begingroup\$ I trust that you did something, but I don't see what changed. \$\endgroup\$
– Bijan
Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 13:31
\$\begingroup\$ Riley's edit formatted the header by prefixing # so it would be styled as a header (larger font, bold). \$\endgroup\$
– DLosc
Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 22:08

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charliefox2 · Accepted Answer · 2017-03-15 18:45:22Z

1

evil, 10 bytes

I've been playing around with evil lately, and this is my first PPCG submission (albeit 2.5 years late). I find it a fun esolang to use partially because it seems nobody uses it!

ramlwalusb

Explanation

r   // Store input character to Accumulator as byte
a   // Since we are writing then adding, add 1 to Accumulator
m   // Drop a loop marker
l   // Swap Wheel and Accumulator
w   // Output Accumulator
a   // Increment Accumulator
l   // Swap Wheel and Accumulator
u   // Decrement Accumulator
sb  // Go back to m if A != 0

evil is also an easy language to write an interpreter for. I think there's a javascript one floating around somewhere, but I ended up just writing my own.

EDIT: Try it online!

edited Mar 15, 2017 at 18:45

answered Mar 15, 2017 at 18:38

charliefox2

1314 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ Cool answer! Welcome to the site! \$\endgroup\$
– DJMcMayhem
Commented Mar 15, 2017 at 18:47

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Erik the Outgolfer · Accepted Answer · 2018-05-09 22:10:37Z

1

Jelly, 2 bytes

ḶỌ

Try it online!

According to current reference implementation as of time of posting.

Jelly, 3 bytes

‘ḶỌ

Try it online!

Inclusive. Reference implementation is exclusive.

edited May 9, 2018 at 22:10

answered Nov 15, 2016 at 17:54

Erik the Outgolfer

40.6k5 gold badges45 silver badges122 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ @ASCII-only Well, I may update the links here, but it's not just the certificates. \$\endgroup\$
– Erik the Outgolfer
Commented May 9, 2018 at 22:09

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JayCe · Accepted Answer · 2018-05-09 23:04:58Z

1

R, 24 bytes

cat(intToUtf8(1:scan()))

Try it online!

answered May 9, 2018 at 23:04

JayCe

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sergiol · Accepted Answer · 2018-05-09 23:56:33Z

1

Tcl, 47 bytes

set i 0
time {puts [format %c $i];incr i} $argv

Try it online!

edited May 9, 2018 at 23:56

answered Jan 23, 2017 at 15:18

sergiol

3,4461 gold badge15 silver badges31 bronze badges

1

\$\begingroup\$ Making the user set n is not valid \$\endgroup\$
– ASCII-only
Commented May 9, 2018 at 22:10
\$\begingroup\$ @ASCII-only: I am in the process of reviewing my older answers. Thanks for pointing out \$\endgroup\$
– sergiol
Commented May 9, 2018 at 23:54

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2020-06-17 09:04:33Z

1

Excel VBA, 26 bytes

An anonymous VBE immediate window function that takes input from cell [A1]

For i=1To[A1]:?Chr(i):Next

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered May 10, 2018 at 0:58

Taylor Raine

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Print the ASCII table

101 Answers 101

PowerShell - 20

Ruby - 35 33 bytes

Befunge-98, 26 20

Pascal: 91 bytes

Python 3 — 51 bytes

LiveScript - 47

Haskell - 16 22 characters

Edit

F# - 66 characters

PowerShell, 20

PHP - 36

PHP - 42

Rebol - 35 34

MATLAB: 13 bytes

MATLAB: 17 bytes

C# - 65 63 52

x86 DOS (11 bytes)

Pip, 3 bytes (not competing)

Perl 6, 25 22 bytes

F#, 43 bytes

Java, 125 bytes

ES6, 42 bytes

Lua, 37 Bytes

PHP - 47 bytes

><>, 14 bytes

Explanation

or

Explanation

SmileBASIC, 31 bytes

PHP, 35 34 bytes

J, 8 bytes

evil, 10 bytes

Explanation

Jelly, 2 bytes

Jelly, 3 bytes

R, 24 bytes

Tcl, 47 bytes

Excel VBA, 26 bytes

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