Alphabet Spiral

Question

You are to write a program or function that outputs this exact text:

OPQRSTU
NQPONMV
MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY
JUVWXYZA
IHGFEDCB

May also be lowercase and trailing spaces and newlines are allowed.

Standard loopholes are disallowed

This is code-golf, so smallest byte count wins.

in case you wonder about the ascii codes of the spiral: puu.sh/qAitG/dd89c615cf.png — downrep_nation, Commented Aug 13, 2016 at 22:03
This output seems far too “complex” (in the Kolmogorov sense, i.e. devoid of pattern). Golf-y languages can hope to compress it, or in the case of MATL, hope to have a spiral built-in — but IMO it’s a bad sign if the best approach to a kolmogorov-complexity challenge is ever “just print the output as a string literal” (see Python). — lynn, Commented Aug 13, 2016 at 22:15
@Lynn Feel free to downvote if you think it's a bad question. That's what it's there for. I'll keep that in mind for next time though. — DanTheMan, Commented Aug 13, 2016 at 22:28

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

16

MATL, 28 26 bytes

1Y2tIL)P0v7lYLP2:JTF-JQ&()

Try it online!

Explanation

1Y2     % Push string 'AB...Z'
tIL)    % Duplicate, remove last: gives 'AB...Y'
P       % Flip: gives 'YX...A'
0       % Push 0. Char 0 is treated as space
v       % Concatenate into a column vector of char
7lYL    % 7x7 numeric array: clockwise spiral of numbers from 1 to 49
P       % Flip vertically to make it anti-clockwise
2:      % Push [1 2]. Will be attached vertically after the last col
JqJh    % Index "[end-1, end]", to be used as row index
JQ      % Index "end+1", to be used as column index
&(      % Assign [1 2] to those positions. The rest of the new col will contain 0
)       % Index into the char vector. Indexing is modular and 1-based, so 0 as an
        % index refers to the last value of the char vector, which is char 0, or
        % equivalently space. So the 0 values in the numeric array give spaces.
        % Implicitly display

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Aug 13, 2016 at 17:42

Luis Mendo

105k9 gold badges135 silver badges372 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ I have no idea how this works. Well done! \$\endgroup\$
– DanTheMan
Commented Aug 13, 2016 at 17:49
\$\begingroup\$ @DanTheMan I just added an explanation... I hope that helps! \$\endgroup\$
– Luis Mendo
Commented Aug 13, 2016 at 17:50
\$\begingroup\$ I feel like the only language that could programmatically beat this is charcoal. \$\endgroup\$
– Magic Octopus Urn
Commented Apr 11, 2017 at 14:46

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

5

Python 2, 69 bytes

print'''OPQRSTU
NQPONMV
MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY
JUVWXYZA
IHGFEDCB'''

Just do it...

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Aug 13, 2016 at 21:41

cdlane

3813 silver badges6 bronze badges

5

\$\begingroup\$ how boring. im afraid this would beat the actual answer in python tho.. \$\endgroup\$
– downrep_nation
Commented Aug 13, 2016 at 21:45

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lynn · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-13 22:10:09Z

2

Bubblegum, 47 bytes

A hex dump, courtesy of xxd:

00000000: 520a adf6 2e08 7444 c41e c8ff 4096 ca2d  [email protected]
00000010: 8832 2297 8cd7 1bb1 fe10 43ce 39cc 8e5f  .2".......C.9.._
00000020: 31f7 3d63 432e d3f3 3873 ecf7 7641 a3    1.=cC...8s..vA.

(This is just the spiral, “compressed”.)

Try it online.

answered Aug 13, 2016 at 22:10

lynn

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Community · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-13 12:39:01Z

1

Fourier, 143 141 bytes

Not a particularly interesting answer except that it stores newlines (ASCII code 10) as the variable T... Uses isaacg's golfing program.

79a^a^a^a^a^a^a10a~T78a81avavavava86aTa77a82a69avava76a87aTa76a83a70a65a^a75a88aTa75a84a71a^a^a^a89a10a74a85a^a^a^a^a^a65aTa73avavavavavavava

~~Try it online~~

Try it online!

edited Apr 13, 2017 at 12:39

CommunityBot

1

answered Aug 13, 2016 at 17:44

Beta Decay

23.4k8 gold badges72 silver badges165 bronze badges

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techydesigner · Accepted Answer · 2016-08-14 10:10:11Z

1

Python 3, 72 bytes

print('OPQRSTU\nNQPONMV\nMREDCLW\nLSFABKX\nKTGHIJY\nJUVWXYZA\nIHGFEDCB')

Not exactly interesting, but it still works!

answered Aug 14, 2016 at 10:10

techydesigner

1136 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ Use '''s instead of 's. \$\endgroup\$
– Erik the Outgolfer
Commented Sep 28, 2016 at 12:22
\$\begingroup\$ @EriktheGolfer It'd be a duplicate if he did that. \$\endgroup\$
– mbomb007
Commented Sep 28, 2016 at 13:35
2

\$\begingroup\$ @mbomb007 I don't think so, because the other one is Python 2. Python 3 is different AFAIK, but, if it would be a dupe, I don't see why it isn't a dupe like this. \$\endgroup\$
– Erik the Outgolfer
Commented Sep 28, 2016 at 13:37
2

\$\begingroup\$ @EriktheGolfer When the only difference is a pair of parentheses and the version of the language, and the method used is identical, it's a duplicate. Just because versions are slightly different, doesn't mean you can provide the exact same answer in every version of a language without it being a duplicate. \$\endgroup\$
– mbomb007
Commented Sep 28, 2016 at 18:41
1

\$\begingroup\$ @mbomb007 As I said before, why isn't this, as it is right now, a dupe then? The method is the same, the only differences are 1) Quoting type (does not change functionality) and 2) Parentheses, because the print statement is now a function, but that doesn't change anything, except that print is out of the builtins (and enhanced). So, why isn't this still a dupe then? \$\endgroup\$
– Erik the Outgolfer
Commented Sep 29, 2016 at 10:44

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Titus · Accepted Answer · 2016-09-28 20:02:18Z

PHP, 130 bytes

for($p=30,$s=1,$r=_;$i<51;$r[$p]=chr(90-abs(25-$i++)),$p+=$s*(9-$d))if(!$n||!$c=++$c%$n)($d=8-$d)?$n++:$s=-$s;echo wordwrap($r,8);

literally draws the spiral. Run with -r

breakdown

for($p=30,$s=1,$r=_;    // initialize position to 3*9+3, $s(ign) to +1, $r(esult) to string
                        // implicit $c(ount)=$d(irection)=$i(ndex)=le($n)gth=0
    $i<51;              // loop $i from 0 to 50
    $r[$p]=chr(90-abs(25-$i++)),// 2. set current position in string to correct character
    $p+=$s*(9-$d))              // 3. move cursor
    if(!$n||!$c=++$c%$n)        // 1. if 1st iteration ($n==0) or ++$c has rotated around $n
        ($d=8-$d)                   // negate $direction (0=horizontal, 8=vertical)
            ?$n++                   // if vertical: increase length
            :$s=-$s                 // else invert sign
        ;
                        // output: wrap to lines of 8 characters
echo wordwrap($r,8);    // having left spaces avoids need to provide 3rd and 4th parameter

Easy to extend: For more alphabet, append %50 after $i++, replace 51 with the wanted number, modify 8-$d, 9-$d, $p=30 and the wordwrap width to the new dimensions.

Shaggy · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-11 15:25:05Z

1

JavaScript ES6, 62 bytes

a=>`OPQRSTU
NQPONMV
MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY
JUVWXYZA
IHGFEDCB`

Try it

let f=a=>`OPQRSTU
NQPONMV
MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY
JUVWXYZA
IHGFEDCB`;

console.log(f());

edited Apr 11, 2017 at 15:25

answered Apr 11, 2017 at 15:16

Shaggy

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

0

Ruby, 63 bytes

In this case, nothing I found beats the boring answer...

puts"OPQRSTU
NQPONMV
MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY
JUVWXYZA
IHGFEDCB"

My best solution that didn't print the literal string only, but still has to directly hardcode some of it, is 110 bytes:

w=[*?B..?Q].reverse*''
puts [*?O..?U]*'',[?N,w[0,5],?V]*'',"MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY",[?J,*?U..?Z,?A]*'',w[8,8]

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Aug 15, 2016 at 0:41

Value Ink

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

0

///, 57 bytes

OPQRSTU
NQPONMV
MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY
JUVWXYZA
IHGFEDCB

Try it online!

Just another boring answer. Move on!

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Sep 28, 2016 at 12:23

Erik the Outgolfer

40.6k5 gold badges45 silver badges122 bronze badges

\$\begingroup\$ Darn, I was 52561024 seconds late! \$\endgroup\$
– sporkl
Commented Apr 11, 2017 at 14:57

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Josh · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-10 17:03:35Z

0

Lua, 69 bytes

print([[OPQRSTU
NQPONMV
MREDCLW
LSFABKX
KTGHIJY
JUVWXYZA
IHGFEDCB]])

At least it works!

answered Apr 10, 2017 at 17:03

Josh

1,1411 gold badge10 silver badges17 bronze badges

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Magic Octopus Urn · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-11 14:45:53Z

0

05AB1E, 46 bytes

•ûk2šÄ>¸©W$V-ÏfQ*LnHO”Ïmsqšƒ1ËUðhd@ý(™š•36B1¡»

Try it online!

Won't win by any means, but it does work.

answered Apr 11, 2017 at 14:45

Magic Octopus Urn

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Matt Brewerton · Accepted Answer · 2017-04-12 16:32:07Z

0

C#, 151 145 136 130 bytes

namespace a{class P{static void Main(){System.Console.Write("OPQRSTU\nNQPONMV\nMREDCLW\nLSFABKX\nKTGHIJY\nJUVWXYZA\nIHGFEDCB");}}}

Again, a boring one that does the trick.

Saved 6 bytes thanks to auhmaan.

edited Apr 12, 2017 at 16:32

answered Apr 10, 2017 at 11:01

Matt Brewerton

1011 bronze badge

\$\begingroup\$ You can save some bytes by replacing using System; ... Console.Write("...") with System.Console.Write("...") \$\endgroup\$
– auhmaan
Commented Apr 11, 2017 at 15:00
\$\begingroup\$ You don't need a namespace. You can also compile to a Func<string> to save even more bytes: ()=>"OPQRSTU\nNQPONMV\nMREDCLW\nLSFABKX\nKTGHIJY\nJUVWXYZA\nIHGFEDCB"; \$\endgroup\$
– TheLethalCoder
Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 14:46
\$\begingroup\$ You can save 5 bytes by using a string literal by prepending @ to the string before the quotes and then replacing the \n with literal new lines \$\endgroup\$
– PunPun1000
Commented Jun 1, 2017 at 18:35
\$\begingroup\$ You can save 2 more bytes by using namespace System and Console.Write instead of namespace a and System.Console.Write \$\endgroup\$
– Mr Scapegrace
Commented Jun 2, 2017 at 7:37

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

0

Windows batch, 84 bytes

@for %%p in (OPQRSTU NQPONMV MREDCLW LSFABKX KTGHIJY JUVWXYZA IHGFEDCB) do @echo %%p

Simple enough for loop to loop through the strings.

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered May 25, 2017 at 12:13

stevefestl

5493 silver badges12 bronze badges

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

0

Japt, 54 52 bytes

`opqÏ
nqpmv
mdclw
lsfabkx
ktgjy
juvwxyza
ihgfcb

Try it online

Explanation

Simply a compressed string of the spiral in lowercase.

edited Jun 17, 2020 at 9:04

CommunityBot

1

answered Jun 1, 2017 at 14:44

Shaggy

43.5k4 gold badges36 silver badges94 bronze badges

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Ozz Nixon · Accepted Answer · 2017-06-12 14:38:27Z

0

Modern Pascal 2.0, 122 bytes

 Write('OPQRSTU'+#13#10+'NQPONMV'+#13#10+'MREDCLW'+#13#10+'LSFABKX'+#13#10+'KTGHIJY'+#13#10+'JUVWXYZA'+#13#10+'IHGFEDCB');

Explanation Simply embed CRLF into the string, and display it.

// Author of Modern Pascal

answered Jun 12, 2017 at 14:38

Ozz Nixon

313 bronze badges

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Stack Exchange Network

Alphabet Spiral

15 Answers 15

MATL, 28 26 bytes

Explanation

Python 2, 69 bytes

Bubblegum, 47 bytes

Fourier, 143 141 bytes

Python 3, 72 bytes

PHP, 130 bytes

JavaScript ES6, 62 bytes

Try it

Ruby, 63 bytes

///, 57 bytes

Lua, 69 bytes

05AB1E, 46 bytes

C#, 151 145 136 130 bytes

Windows batch, 84 bytes

Japt, 54 52 bytes

Explanation

Modern Pascal 2.0, 122 bytes

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code-golf
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kolmogorov-complexity
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Alphabet Spiral

15 Answers 15

MATL, 28 26 bytes

Explanation

Python 2, 69 bytes

Bubblegum, 47 bytes

Fourier, 143 141 bytes

Python 3, 72 bytes

PHP, 130 bytes

JavaScript ES6, 62 bytes

Try it

Ruby, 63 bytes

///, 57 bytes

Lua, 69 bytes

05AB1E, 46 bytes

C#, 151 145 136 130 bytes

Windows batch, 84 bytes

Japt, 54 52 bytes

Explanation

Modern Pascal 2.0, 122 bytes

Your Answer

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