spiralInput.c

/*
    Spiral Order Matrix Input in C

    This program reads elements of an n x n matrix from the user **in spiral order** (starting from the top-left, moving right, down, left, and up in layers).
    After all elements are entered in spiral order, the program prints the matrix in standard row-wise format.

    Example:
    For n = 3 and input: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 (entered in spiral order)
    The output will be:
    -> -> ->
    1 2 3 |
    8 9 4 |
    7 6 5 |
    <- <- <-
    This is useful for understanding spiral traversal and for problems where spiral input is required.

    Author: [Soham Bhattacharya]
    Date: [23.06.2025]
*/
#include<stdio.h>
int main(){
    int n;
    printf("Enter the row/column of the matrix: ");
    scanf("%d", &n);
    int arr[n][n];
    int tne = n*n;
    int count = 0;
    int minr=0 , minc=0, maxr=n-1, maxc=n-1;
    printf("Enter your elements: ");
    while(count<tne){
        for(int j=minc;j<=maxc && count<tne;j++){
            scanf("%d", &arr[minr][j]);
            count++;
        }
        minr++;
        for(int i=minr;i<=maxr && count<tne;i++){
            scanf("%d", &arr[i][maxc]);
            count++;
        }
        maxc--;
        for(int j=maxc;j>=minc && count<tne;j--){
            scanf("%d", &arr[maxr][j]);
            count++;
        }
        maxr--;
        for(int i=maxr;i>=minr && count<tne;i--){
            scanf("%d", &arr[i][minc]);
            count++;
        }
        minc++;
    }
    for(int i=0;i<n;i++){
        for(int j=0; j<n;j++){
            printf("%d ", arr[i][j]);
        }
        printf("\n");
    }
    return 0;
}