Boxifier Code-Along

Follow the instructions below to create and use a method that encases a piece of text in an ASCII box.

Printing the Welcome Message

Start by creating a new project and simply printing out a basic welcome message.

using System;

class MainClass
{
    public static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        Console.WriteLine("Welcome to the Boxifier!");
        Console.WriteLine();
    }
}

Defining the boxify Method

The goal of this program will be to have a method named boxify that places a custom message in a box. To start, have the method simply print out a box containing a static message.

Under the Main method, define a new method named boxify:

public static void boxify() { }

Then, in the body of the boxify method, add three Console.WriteLine statements to print out the word "Box" surrounded by an ASCII art box:

Console.WriteLine(".-------.");
Console.WriteLine("|  Box  |");
Console.WriteLine("*-------*");

Finally, call the boxify method from the Main method, under the other code:

boxify();

Run the program, and verify that the properly boxed message appears!

Returning a string from the boxify Method

To make this more dynamic, the boxify method should return a string. This way, the code that calls the method can do anything with the result.

Start by updating the method signature of the boxify method so that its return type is string instead of void:

public static string boxify()

Next, in the body of the boxify method, move the three strings out of the Console.WriteLine statements, and into their own variables:

string topLine = ".-------.";
string middleLine = "|  Box  |";
string bottomLine = "*-------*";

Finally, combine the three string lines, separated by '\n' characters, into a new string variable, and return it:

string entireBox = topLine + "\n" + middleLine + "\n" + bottomLine;
return entireBox;

Using a Custom message Parameter for the boxify Method

Now that the box message has been returned as a string, it's time to add the ability to customize the message. Instead of always putting "Box" in the box, the message will be determined by a parameter on the boxify method.

First, update the method signature for the boxify method so that it contains a new string parameter of message:

public static string boxify(string message)

Then, update the middleLine variable so that instead of containing "Box" it contains the custom message parameter

string middleLine = "|  " + message + "  |";

Everything else should still work the same for now!

Updating the boxify Method Call with the string Argument

The boxify method has been updated quite a bit, but it appears to be broken when it is called from the Main method! This is because the boxify method takes an argument now, and the Main method needs to pass something into it.

Create a new string variable above the call to boxify, and pass it into the boxify method call:

string boxMessage = "I am in a box";

boxify(boxMessage);

Additionally, it is important to save what is returned from the boxify method call! Create a new string variable named box, and update the code so that it stores the result in the variable:

string box = boxify(boxMessage);

Run the code to make sure it works! It should look okay for some messages, but it also appears to be a little off.

Calculating the Box Top and Bottom Dashes

Currently, the number of dashes on the top and the bottom of the box does not change with the message length. This means that the box does not look much like a box! Update the code in the boxify method so that it dynamically creates strings for the top and bottom dashes.

At the top of the body of the boxify method, create a new string variable named dashes, and set it to the empty string:

string dashes = "";

The dashes variable should eventually hold one dash for each character in the message. To accomplish this, set up a while loop:

while ()
{

}

In the condition for the while loop, check that the length of dashes is less than the length of message:

while (dashes.Length < message.Length)

Basically, the loop should continue until the number of dashes matches the number of characters in the message. Next, in the body of the while loop, add a dash to the dashes variable:

dashes += "-";

Now that the proper dashes have been calculated, it's time to place them within the topLine and bottomLine variables. Remove the three - characters currently in the middle of the top and bottom lines, and replace them with the dashes variable:

string topLine = ".--" + dashes + "--.";
string middleLine = "|  " + message + "  |";
string bottomLine = "*--" + dashes + "--*";

Run the code again, and verify that the box properly sizes to the message! Try updating the boxMessage variable in the Main method, and make sure the box resizes as needed.

Receiving the Box Message from the Console

The usefulness of the boxify method is that it can boxify any message! Instead of hard-coding a message, ask the user for one.

First, at the top of the body of the Main method, use Console.WriteLine to print the question to the console:

Console.WriteLine("What would you like to put in a box?");

Then, update the value of the boxMessage variable so that it is set to Console.ReadLine:

string boxMessage = Console.ReadLine();

Finally, add an extra Console.WriteLine underneath the string boxMessage line for some extra space:

Console.WriteLine();

Run the code again, and verify that it is possible to boxify any message entered!

Calling the boxify Method on the Welcome Message

One final benefit to the boxify method is that the welcoming message can also be boxified! Create a new string variable named welcomeBox, and set it equal to the boxified welcome message. Then, write it to the console:

string welcomeBox = boxify("Welcome to the Boxifier!");
Console.WriteLine(welcomeBox);

Run the program one last time to see the ultimate power of the Boxifier!

Final Code

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