Java Multiplication Table Program (Loops, 2D Array) 5 Ways

In Java programming, mastering the basics is crucial before diving into more complex tasks. One fundamental skill is the ability to generate a multiplication table in Java.

A multiplication table, often called a times table, is a structured representation of the multiplication operation for a specific range of numbers. It displays the product of all possible pairs of numbers within that range, usually from 1 to n, where 'n' is a user-defined value.

This tutorial will guide you through the process of creating a Java program for multiplication table. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced programmer looking to refresh your skills, understanding how to create a multiplication table program in Java is a valuable skill that can be applied in various real-world scenarios.

Use Cases of Multiplication Tables in Java Programming

Here's why understanding and implementing a Java program to generate a multiplication table is important:

Math Education: Multiplication tables are an essential part of primary mathematics education. Learning multiplication tables helps students develop strong foundational math skills, making this program a valuable teaching tool for educators and parents.
Quick Reference: Multiplication tables serve as quick reference guides for mathematical calculations. Professionals in fields like engineering, finance, and science often use these tables to perform calculations more efficiently.
Data Analysis: Data analysts and statisticians use multiplication tables when dealing with large datasets. Generating tables can simplify the process of calculating aggregated values or conducting data transformations.
Algorithm Development: Developing algorithms often requires a deep understanding of fundamental operations like multiplication. A multiplication table program can serve as a building block for more complex algorithms.
Coding Skills: For those learning to program, creating a multiplication table program is an excellent exercise to practice basic programming concepts, such as loops and conditional statements, and gain confidence in writing code.

So here, we will learn to create multiplication table in Java using different methods, including for loop, while loop, nested loop, recursion, and more.

Concepts to Learn:

Multiplication Table in Java Using Nested for Loop

Below is a Java program to generate a multiplication table using nested loops. This program generates a multiplication table up to the specified value of n with clear formatting for easy readability.

Code

public class MultiplicationTable {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int n = 2; // Define the number up to which you want to generate the table
        
        // Nested loop to generate the multiplication table
        for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
            for (int j = 1; j <= 10; j++) {
                System.out.printf("%2d x %2d = %2d   ", i, j, (i * j));
            }
            System.out.println(); // Move to the next line for the next number
        }
    }
}

Output

1 x  1 =  1    1 x  2 =  2   1 x  3 =  3    1 x  4 =  4    1 x  5 = 5    1 x  6 =  6    1 x  7 =  7   1 x  8 =  8    1 x  9 =  91 x 10 = 10   2 x  1 =  2    2 x  2 = 4   2 x  3 =  6    2 x 4 =  8   2x 5 = 10    2x  6 = 12    2 x  7 = 14   2 x  8 = 162 x  9 = 18   2x 10 = 20

Explanation

In this program, we use two nested for loops. The outer loop (for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++)) iterates through the numbers from 1 to n, where n is the value you want to generate the multiplication table up to.
The inner loop (for (int j = 1; j <= 10; j++)) iterates from 1 to 10, as we typically generate multiplication tables up to 10.
Inside the inner loop, we use System.out.printf to format and print each multiplication equation. %2d is used to format the integers with at least two characters, which aligns the numbers nicely.
We calculate and display the product of i and j to show the result of the multiplication.
After printing all the values for a given number i, we move to the next line using System.out.println() to start a new row for the next number in the outer loop.

Multiplication Table in Java Using 2D Arrays

This program also generates a multiplication table up to the specified value of n, but it stores the table in a 2D array before displaying it. The array allows for easy access to the values if you need to perform further operations on the table.

Here's a Java program to generate a multiplication table using 2 dimensional arrays:

Code

public class MultiplicationTable {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int n = 5; // Define the number up to which you want to generate the table
        
        // Create a 2D array to store the multiplication table
        int[][] table = new int[n][n];
        
        // Populate the multiplication table
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
            for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {
                table[i][j] = (i + 1) * (j + 1);
            }
        }
        
        // Display the multiplication table
        for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
            for (int j = 0; j < n; j++) {
                System.out.printf("%2d x %2d = %2d   ", i + 1, j + 1, table[i][j]);
            }
            System.out.println(); // Move to the next line for the next row
        }
    }
}

Output

1 x  1 =  1    1 x  2 =  2    1 x  3 =  3    1 x  4 =  4    1 x  5 =  5   
 2 x  1 =  2    2 x  2 =  4    2 x  3 =  6    2 x  4 =  8    2 x  5 = 10   
 3 x  1 =  3    3 x  2 =  6    3 x  3 =  9    3 x  4 = 12    3 x  5 = 15   
 4 x  1 =  4    4 x  2 =  8    4 x  3 = 12    4 x  4 = 16    4 x  5 = 20   
 5 x  1 =  5    5 x  2 = 10    5 x  3 = 15    5 x  4 = 20    5 x  5 = 25

Explanation

In this program, we use a 2D array called table to store the multiplication table. The dimensions of the array are n x n, where n is the value you want to generate the multiplication table up to.
We use nested for loops to populate the table array. The outer loop (for (int i = 0; i < n; i++)) iterates through the rows, and the inner loop (for (int j = 0; j < n; j++)) iterates through the columns.
Inside the inner loop, we calculate the product of (i + 1) and (j + 1) to fill the corresponding cell in the table array.
After populating the table array, we use another set of nested for loops to display the multiplication table with proper formatting.

Java Multiplication Table Program Using Recursion

Here's a Java program to generate a multiplication table using the third method, which involves recursion:

Code

public class MultiplicationTable {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int n = 10; // Define the number up to which you want to generate the table
        
        // Generate and display the multiplication table using recursion
        generateMultiplicationTable(1, n);
    }
    
    public static void generateMultiplicationTable(int i, int n) {
        if (i > n) {
            return;
        }
        
        // Display the multiplication table for the current number (i)
        for (int j = 1; j <= 10; j++) {
            System.out.printf("%2d x %2d = %2d   ", i, j, (i * j));
        }
        System.out.println(); // Move to the next line for the next number
        
        // Recursively generate the multiplication table for the next number (i+1)
        generateMultiplicationTable(i + 1, n);
    }
}

Output

1 x  1 =  1    1 x  2 =  2    1 x  3 =  3    1 x  4 =  4    1 x  5 =  5    1 x  6 =  6    1 x  7 =  7    1 x  8 =  8    1 x  9 =  9    1 x 10 = 10   
 2 x  1 =  2    2 x  2 =  4    2 x  3 =  6    2 x  4 =  8    2 x  5 = 10    2 x  6 = 12    2 x  7 = 14    2 x  8 = 16    2 x  9 = 18    2 x 10 = 20   
 3 x  1 =  3    3 x  2 =  6    3 x  3 =  9    3 x  4 = 12    3 x  5 = 15    3 x  6 = 18    3 x  7 = 21    3 x  8 = 24    3 x  9 = 27    3 x 10 = 30   
 4 x  1 =  4    4 x  2 =  8    4 x  3 = 12    4 x  4 = 16    4 x  5 = 20    4 x  6 = 24    4 x  7 = 28    4 x  8 = 32    4 x  9 = 36    4 x 10 = 40   
 5 x  1 =  5    5 x  2 = 10    5 x  3 = 15    5 x  4 = 20    5 x  5 = 25    5 x  6 = 30    5 x  7 = 35    5 x  8 = 40    5 x  9 = 45    5 x 10 = 50

Explanation

In this program, we use a recursive method called generateMultiplicationTable to generate and display the multiplication table.
The generateMultiplicationTable method takes two parameters: i, which represents the current number for which we want to generate the table, and n, which is the value up to which we want to generate the table.
Inside the generateMultiplicationTable method, we first check if i is greater than n. If it is, we return, which serves as the base case for the recursion.
If i is less than or equal to n, we use a for loop to display the multiplication table for the current number i. We then increment i and make a recursive call to generateMultiplicationTable to generate the table for the next number.
This process continues until i becomes greater than n, at which point the recursion stops.

Java Multiplication Table Using while Loop

Code

import java.util.Scanner;

public class MultiplicationTable {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        Scanner scanner = new Scanner(System.in);
        System.out.print("Enter the number for multiplication table: ");
        int number = scanner.nextInt();
        scanner.close();

        int i = 1; // Initialize the loop counter

        System.out.println("Multiplication Table for " + number + ":");
        while (i <= 10) { // Loop from 1 to 10
            int result = number * i;
            System.out.println(number + " x " + i + " = " + result);
            i++; // Increment the loop counter
        }
    }
}

Output

Enter the number for multiplication table: 5
Multiplication Table for 5:
5 x 1 = 5
5 x 2 = 10
5 x 3 = 15
5 x 4 = 20
5 x 5 = 25
5 x 6 = 30
5 x 7 = 35
5 x 8 = 40
5 x 9 = 45
5 x 10 = 50

Explanation

We import the Scanner class to read input from the user.

In the main method:

We prompt the user to enter a number for which they want to generate a multiplication table.
We read the input number using Scanner.

We initialize a variable i to 1. This variable will be used as a loop counter.

We display a header indicating the multiplication table for the entered number.

We enter a while loop that will execute as long as i is less than or equal to 10. This loop will generate the multiplication table for the specified number from 1 to 10.

Inside the loop:

We calculate the result of multiplying the number by i.
We print the multiplication expression and the result.
We increment i by 1 to move to the next multiplication.

The loop continues until i becomes greater than 10, at which point it terminates.

Generate Multiplication Table in Java Using StringBuilder

Here's a Java program to generate a multiplication table using the StringBuilder:

Code

public class MultiplicationTable {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int n = 10; // Define the number up to which you want to generate the table
        
        // Generate and display the multiplication table using StringBuilder
        StringBuilder table = generateMultiplicationTable(n);
        System.out.println(table);
    }
    
    public static StringBuilder generateMultiplicationTable(int n) {
        StringBuilder table = new StringBuilder();
        
        // Generate the multiplication table
        for (int i = 1; i <= n; i++) {
            for (int j = 1; j <= 10; j++) {
                table.append(String.format("%2d x %2d = %2d   ", i, j, (i * j)));
            }
            table.append("\n"); // Add a newline for the next row
        }
        
        return table;
    }
}

Output

1 x  1 =  1    1 x  2 =  2    1 x  3 =  3    1 x  4 =  4    1 x  5 =  5    1 x  6 =  6    1 x  7 =  7    1 x  8 =  8    1 x  9 =  9    1 x 10 = 10   
 2 x  1 =  2    2 x  2 =  4    2 x  3 =  6    2 x  4 =  8    2 x  5 = 10    2 x  6 = 12    2 x  7 = 14    2 x  8 = 16    2 x  9 = 18    2 x 10 = 20   
 3 x  1 =  3    3 x  2 =  6    3 x  3 =  9    3 x  4 = 12    3 x  5 = 15    3 x  6 = 18    3 x  7 = 21    3 x  8 = 24    3 x  9 = 27    3 x 10 = 30   
 4 x  1 =  4    4 x  2 =  8    4 x  3 = 12    4 x  4 = 16    4 x  5 = 20    4 x  6 = 24    4 x  7 = 28    4 x  8 = 32    4 x  9 = 36    4 x 10 = 40   
 5 x  1 =  5    5 x  2 = 10    5 x  3 = 15    5 x  4 = 20    5 x  5 = 25    5 x  6 = 30    5 x  7 = 35    5 x  8 = 40    5 x  9 = 45    5 x 10 = 50

Explanation

In this program, we use a StringBuilder to efficiently build the multiplication table as a string.
The generateMultiplicationTable method takes an integer n as a parameter, which represents the number up to which we want to generate the table.
We create a StringBuilder named table to accumulate the multiplication table as a string.
Inside the method, we use nested for loops to generate the multiplication table, just like in the previous examples. However, instead of printing each line directly to the console, we use the append method of the StringBuilder to build the table as a string.
We format each multiplication equation using String.format and add it to the table using append. We also add a newline character (\n) at the end of each row to move to the next line for the next number.
Finally, we return the StringBuilder containing the complete multiplication table as a string.

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Examples

Java Multiplication Table Program (Loops, 2D Array) 5 Ways

Use Cases of Multiplication Tables in Java Programming

Multiplication Table in Java Using Nested for Loop

Code

Output

Explanation

Multiplication Table in Java Using 2D Arrays

Code

Output

Explanation

Java Multiplication Table Program Using Recursion

Code

Output

Explanation

Java Multiplication Table Using while Loop

Code

Output

Explanation

Generate Multiplication Table in Java Using StringBuilder

Code

Output

Explanation