Draw an ASCII Lightning Bolt

Question

Introduction

Partly inspired by this StackOverflow question, let's draw an ASCII Lightning Bolt.

Write a program that takes a positive Integer n via STDIN or command line and outputs the ASCII Lightning Bolt below.

Input

Positive Integer n representing the number of lightning zig-zag tiers to draw.

Example Output

n=1

__
\ \
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

n=2

__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

n=3

__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

n=4

__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

. . . etc

---

Additional notes

• You may write a function that takes n as the only argument and prints or returns the string.
• Trailing spaces and new lines are okay.
• No leading spaces except where appropriate for the designated pattern.
• Shortest code in bytes wins.

Answer 1

Java, 201 196 189 186 182 bytes

Obviously not the best, but it is in Java.

class I{public static void main(String[]a){System.out.print(("__\na a"+new String(new byte[new Byte(a[0])-1]).replace("\0","__a\\  __\\\n a")+"  a   \\/").replace("a","\\ \\\n"));}}

Answer 2

CJam, 41 bytes

":¡ö cQïO[nu÷&,"255b6b"
 _\/X"f='X/~ri(*\

I can probably squeeze a few more bytes out, but here's some compression. I picked a base which would lead to no unprintables.

Try it online.

The lightning bolt is split into top + middle * (input-1) + bottom, where top, middle, bottom (compressed using base conversion) are

__
\. 

  \
.\.\
__\.\
\..__ 

    \
.\.\
..\.\
...\/

(Spaces are marked with .s)

40 bytes

Thanks to Optimizer

"¹Ñ³Û-+ÎDx^áÐ"254b6b"
_\ 0/"f=)/~ri(*\

Answer 3

JavaScript (ES6) 76

Using template string, the 3 newlines are significant and counted.

Test running the snippet (Firefox only)

f=n=>`__
1 1${`__1\\  __\\
 1`.repeat(n-1)}  1   \\/`.replace(/1/g,`\\ \\
`)

// TEST

go=_=>O.innerHTML=f(I.value)

go()

N: <input id=I value=3><button onclick='go()'>Test</button>
<pre id=O></pre>

Answer 4

PowerShell, 72 63 bytes

Stupid Windows and your \r\n... This could have been 67 59 bytes!

%{$a="\ \
";"__
$a"+" $a`__$a\  __\
"*($_-1)+" $a  $a   \/"}

Answer 5

Pyth, 60 54 bytes (Thanks @isaacg)

My first attempt at Pyth, probably very bad.

"__
\ \ "VtQ" \ \ 
__\ \ 
\  __\ ")" \ \ 
  \ \ 
   \/

Verify it here.

Answer 6

PHP - 84 79 78 bytes

<?php
define('N',3); // <- didnt count these bytes as TS said I could take var N as input
?>
<?="__
\ \
 \ \ ".str_repeat("
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \ ",N-1)."
  \ \ 
   \/"

View the result source or wrap in <pre /> to check results. The newlines are required in the code.
The -1 could be moved to the define, but I considered that a cheat.

1st improvement: replace \n with actual newlines
2nd: Since I can define a var, I used a CONTANT, safes the $. +an unneeded space in str_repeat
3rd: Accidentally removed the -1, but saved a byte by using <?= instead of echo.

Answer 7

CJam, 50 bytes

"__
\ \
"q~(" \ \
__\ \
\  __\
"*" \ \
"_S\"   \/"

Try it here

Answer 8

Brainfuck, 164 bytes

,<++++++++++++++++[>--->+>++++++>++>++++++>+++<<<<<<-]>->--->---->>->-<..<<<.>.>
.<.<.>>.<.>.<.<.<[>>>>..<<.>.<.<.>.>..>..<<.<.>>.<.>.<.<.<-]>>>..<.>.<.<.>>...<.
>>>.

With comments:

Initialise n and character set with i as counter
Memory = in♪\ _/
,<++++++++++++++++[>--->+>++++++>++>++++++>+++<<<<<<-]>->--->---->>->-

Draw top of lightning bolt
<..<<<.>.>.<.<.>>.<.>.<.<.<

Draw lightning bolt zigzags
[>>>>..<<.>.<.<.>.>..>..<<.<.>>.<.>.<.<.<-]

Draw lightning bolt tip
>>>..<.>.<.<.>>...<.>>>.

Okay, how this Brainfuck answer beating Java and C#?

Answer 9

><> (Fish), 409 bytes

Run by fish.py bolt.fish --value n where bolt.fish is the program name and n is your positive integer input.

\
\         "__"       a
\         "\ \"      a
\         " \ \"     a
\r1-:?!vr "__\ \"    a
\     !0  "\  __\"   a
\     !6  " \ \"  a04.
>r   9a.  "__\ \"    \
      /   "\  __\"  \ 
       /  " \ \"   \  
        / "  \ \" \   
         /"   \/"\    
                 aaaaa
|o|!~r           /    
         \        /   
        \          /  
       \            / 
      \              /

It's not short, but it looks cool. My attempt was to try to make it look like a lightning strike. Also, it always errors on completion.

Answer 10

Perl, 69+1

69 characters, plus 1 for the -n command line switch to fetch input from stdin.

$s="\\ \\$/";print"__$/$s $s".("__$s\\  __\\$/ $s"x--$_)."  $s   \\/"

Usage example:

perl -ne '$s="\\ \\$/";print"__$/$s $s".("__$s\\  __\\$/ $s"x--$_)."  $s   \\/"' <<<"2"
__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

Answer 11

Javascript (ES6), 86

Not gonna win, but I love 1-line solution and I hate slashes.

f=n=>atob("X18KXCBc"+"CiBcIFwKX19cIFwKXCAgX19c".repeat(n-1)+"CiBcIFwKICBcIFwKICAgXC8")

Answer 12

C, 101 bytes

My not so original implementation in c

f(n){puts("__\n\\ \\");for(;--n;puts(" \\ \\\n__\\ \\\n\\  __\\"));puts(" \\ \\\n  \\ \\\n   \\/");}

Answer 13

C#, 166 bytes

class I{static void Main(string[]a){System.Console.Write(("__\na a"+"".PadLeft(int.Parse(a[0])-1).Replace(" ",@"__a\  __\
 a")+@"  a   \/").Replace("a",@"\ \
"));}}

EDIT 1: improved the result from 186B to 173B
EDIT 2: saved 1B by using PadLeft instead of PadRight
EDIT 3: saved 8B by dropping PadLeft's second parameter and using verbatim string literals

Answer 14

C#, 221 Bytes

class C{static void Main(string[]n){int e=System.Int32.Parse(n[0]);var o=@"__{0}\ \{0} \ \{0}";while(e>1){o+=@"__\ \{0}\  __\{0} \ \{0}";e--;}System.Console.WriteLine(o + @"  \ \{0}   \/{0}",System.Environment.NewLine);}}

This isn't the best, or the smallest answer, but I figured I'd give it a try. Fsacer's answer is much shorter and I think you should check it out. I just decided to do this just as an alternative method really.

Answer 15

Awk, 101+8 bytes

101 characters, plus 8 for -v n=$1 to get integer from shell.

'{l="\\ \\";print"__\n"l"\n "l;for(i=1;i<n;++i)print"__"l"\n\\  __\\\n "l}END{print"  "l"\n   \\/"}'

New to this SE site, unclear if those parameters should count.

Ungolfed

awk 
-v n=$1
'{
  l="\\ \\";
  print "__\n"l"\n "l;
  for(i=1; i<n; ++i)
    print "__"l"\n\\  __\\\n "l
}
END
{
  print "  "l"\n   \\/"
}'

Usage example:

lightning() { echo | awk -v n=$1 '{l="\\ \\";print"__\n"l"\n "l;for(i=1;i<n;++i)print"__"l"\n\\  __\\\n "l}END{print"  "l"\n   \\/"}'; }
lightning 3
__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

Answer 16

Python 97 82 78char:

print(("__\nl l"+"__l\  __\\\n l"*~-input()+"  l   \/").replace('l','\ \\\n'))

This is my first code golf

@(^_^)@

Test here

Answer 17

Google Sheets, 60 Bytes

Anonymous worksheet function that takes input from range [A1] and outputs to the calling cell.

="__
\ \
 \ \
"&REPT("__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
",A1-1)&"  \ \
   \/

Answer 18

Perl 5, 58 + 1 (-n) = 59 bytes

say'__
\ \
 \ \ 
'.'__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
'x--$_.'  \ \
   \/'

Try it online!

Answer 19

Python 3, 126 118 117 bytes

Just something to get us started with.

n=int(input())
p=print
p('__\n\\ \\')
for i in[0]*~-n:p(r''' \ \
__\ \
\  __\
''',end='')
p(r''' \ \
  \ \
   \/
''')

Answer 20

C, 119 108 bytes

p(t){for(;t;t/=4)putchar(" \\_\n"[t%4]);}main(c){for(p(13434);p(836),--c;p(57154842));p(265488);puts("/");}

First attempt, 150 bytes

v(a){putchar(a);}s(b){b--?v(32),s(b):v(92);}l(b){s(b);s(1);v(10);}main(c){for(puts("__\n\\ \\");l(1),--c;puts("__\\ \\\n\\  __\\"));l(2);s(3);v(47);}

main is accepting an int argument, so run like this: ./lightning . . . to pass 4 as argument.

Answer 21

Python 2, 76 bytes

print'__\n\ \\\n \ \\\n'+r'''__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
'''*~-input()+'  \ \\\n   \/'

Just print the first three lines, then print the next three lines n-1 times, and then print the final 2 lines. All in one go.

And here is a nice try at an alternative that (unfortunately) uses exactly the same number of bytes:

print('__\n| |'+'__|\  __\\\n |'*~-input()+'  |   \/').replace('|','\ \\\n')

Answer 22

F#, 98 characters, 105 bytes

let l n=(@"__♪◙\z"+String.replicate(n-1)@" \z__\z\  __\♪◙"+ @" \z  \z   \/").Replace("z"," \\\n")

Answer 23

Pascal: 149 142 141 137 characters

var n:Word;begin
Read(n);Writeln('__'#10'\ \'#10' \ \');for n:=2to n do Writeln('__\ \'#10'\  __\'#10' \ \');Write('  \ \'#10'   \/')end.

After all, Pascal's only golfing strength is that backslashes need no escaping…

Answer 24

CJam 54 Chars

not the shortest, but since i started CJam today, im happy with it.

rd(:T;{'__}:W~N{'\:XSXN}:V~SV{WVXSSWXNSV;N}T*SSVSSSX'/

Try it

Answer 25

Powershell, 59 bytes

'__
\ \'
,' \ \
__\ \
\  __\'*--$args[0]
' \ \
  \ \
   \/'

Test script:

$f = {

'__
\ \'
,' \ \
__\ \
\  __\'*--$args[0]
' \ \
  \ \
   \/'

}

&$f 1
&$f 2
&$f 3
&$f 4

Output:

__
\ \
 \ \
  \ \
   \/
__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/
__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/
__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

Explanation:

This script is traditional top+middle+bottom. There is only one smart thing: the comma before the middle string force to repeat an array element rather than a string. Therefore, each middle is displayed on a new line.

Answer 26

SpecBAS - 135 104 bytes

The apostrophe in PRINT statements moves cursor to a new line.

SpecBAS lets you incorporate ASCII characters in a string via way of #n, so have built in some carriage returns (ASCII 13).

Built a string up using carriage returns and other characters, then used REP$ to repeat it the required number of times.

1 LET b$="\ \": INPUT n: PRINT "__"'b$+REP$(#13" "+b$+#13"__"+b$+#13"\  __\",n-1)'" ";b$'"  ";b$'"   \/"

Answer 27

PHP 155

$l=PHP_EOL;echo$l;echo "__$l";for($i=0;$i<$argv[1];$i++){if($i>=1)echo "__\\ \\$l\\  __\\$l";else echo "\\ \\$l";echo " \\ \\$l";}echo "  \\ \\$l   \\/$l";

Ungolfed Version

$n = $argv[1];

echo PHP_EOL;
echo '__'.PHP_EOL;
for($i=0;$i<$n;$i++)
{
    if($i>=1) {
        echo '__\\ \\'.PHP_EOL.'\\  __\\'.PHP_EOL;

    }
    else
    {
        echo '\\ \\'.PHP_EOL;
    }   
    echo ' \\ \\'.PHP_EOL; 


}    
echo '  \\ \\'.PHP_EOL;
echo '   \\/';
echo PHP_EOL;

Answer 28

Java, 183 180 bytes

class L{public static void main(String[]a){String b="__\n\\ \\\n \\ \\\n";for(int i=1;i<new Long(a[0]);++i)b+="__\\ \\\n\\  __\\\n \\ \\\n";System.out.print(b+"  \\ \\\n   \\/");}}

Lua, 110 bytes

function l(n)print("__\n\\ \\\n \\ \\\n"..string.rep("__\\ \\\n\\  __\\\n \\ \\\n",n-1).."  \\ \\\n   \\/")end

Answer 29

Retina, 46 bytes

.+
__#r r$0x  r   \/
1x

1
__r\  __\# r
r
\ \#   

Takes input as unary.

Each line should go to its own file and # should be changed to newline in the files. This is impractical but you can run the code as is, as one file, with the -s flag, keeping the # markers. You can change the #'s to newlines in the output for readability if you wish. E.g.:

> echo -n 11|retina -s lightning|tr # '\n'
__
\ \
 \ \
__\ \
\  __\
 \ \
  \ \
   \/

The algorithm is very simple. The pairs of lines (regex - substitute pairs) do the following substitution steps:

• Surround input with the top and bottom of the lightning.
• Subtract 1 from the unary input.
• Change every unary digit into the middle part of the lightning.
• Decompress the compressed \ \ parts of the lightning to get the desired output.