Bash Script to Print Multiplication Table

Use a Bash script with nested for loops like for i in {1..10}; do for j in {1..10}; do echo "$i x $j = $((i*j))"; done; done to print a multiplication table.

Examples

Input1 to 3

Output1 x 1 = 1 1 x 2 = 2 1 x 3 = 3 2 x 1 = 2 2 x 2 = 4 2 x 3 = 6 3 x 1 = 3 3 x 2 = 6 3 x 3 = 9

Input1 to 5

Output1 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

Input1 to 1

Output1 x 1 = 1

How to Think About It

To print a multiplication table, think of two numbers: one for rows and one for columns. Use two loops: the outer loop picks the first number, and the inner loop picks the second. Multiply them and print the result for each pair.

Algorithm

1

Set the range of numbers for the table (e.g., 1 to 10).

2

Start the outer loop from the first number to the last number.

3

Inside the outer loop, start the inner loop from the first number to the last number.

4

Multiply the current numbers from both loops.

5

Print the multiplication expression and result.

6

Repeat until all pairs are printed.

Code

bash

#!/bin/bash
for i in {1..10}; do
  for j in {1..10}; do
    echo "$i x $j = $((i * j))"
  done
done

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
6 x 1 = 6
6 x 2 = 12
6 x 3 = 18
6 x 4 = 24
6 x 5 = 30
6 x 6 = 36
6 x 7 = 42
6 x 8 = 48
6 x 9 = 54
6 x 10 = 60
7 x 1 = 7
7 x 2 = 14
7 x 3 = 21
7 x 4 = 28
7 x 5 = 35
7 x 6 = 42
7 x 7 = 49
7 x 8 = 56
7 x 9 = 63
7 x 10 = 70
8 x 1 = 8
8 x 2 = 16
8 x 3 = 24
8 x 4 = 32
8 x 5 = 40
8 x 6 = 48
8 x 7 = 56
8 x 8 = 64
8 x 9 = 72
8 x 10 = 80
9 x 1 = 9
9 x 2 = 18
9 x 3 = 27
9 x 4 = 36
9 x 5 = 45
9 x 6 = 54
9 x 7 = 63
9 x 8 = 72
9 x 9 = 81
9 x 10 = 90
10 x 1 = 10
10 x 2 = 20
10 x 3 = 30
10 x 4 = 40
10 x 5 = 50
10 x 6 = 60
10 x 7 = 70
10 x 8 = 80
10 x 9 = 90
10 x 10 = 100

Dry Run

Let's trace printing the multiplication table from 1 to 3.

1

Outer loop starts with i=1

Inner loop runs j=1 to 3, printing 1 x 1=1, 1 x 2=2, 1 x 3=3

2

Outer loop i=2

Inner loop runs j=1 to 3, printing 2 x 1=2, 2 x 2=4, 2 x 3=6

3

Outer loop i=3

Inner loop runs j=1 to 3, printing 3 x 1=3, 3 x 2=6, 3 x 3=9

i	j	Output
1	1	1 x 1 = 1
1	2	1 x 2 = 2
1	3	1 x 3 = 3
2	1	2 x 1 = 2
2	2	2 x 2 = 4
2	3	2 x 3 = 6
3	1	3 x 1 = 3
3	2	3 x 2 = 6
3	3	3 x 3 = 9

Why This Works

Step 1: Outer loop controls the first number

The for loop with variable i runs through the first number in the multiplication.

Step 2: Inner loop controls the second number

The nested for loop with variable j runs through the second number for each i.

Step 3: Multiplication and printing

Inside the inner loop, $((i * j)) calculates the product, and echo prints the formatted result.

Alternative Approaches

Using while loops

bash

#!/bin/bash
i=1
while [ $i -le 10 ]; do
  j=1
  while [ $j -le 10 ]; do
    echo "$i x $j = $((i * j))"
    ((j++))
  done
  ((i++))
done

While loops offer more control but are slightly longer and less concise than for loops.

Printing formatted table with tabs

bash

#!/bin/bash
for i in {1..10}; do
  for j in {1..10}; do
    printf "%d\t" $((i * j))
  done
  echo
 done

This prints a clean grid of products without the multiplication expression, useful for compact tables.

Using seq command for range

bash

#!/bin/bash
for i in $(seq 1 10); do
  for j in $(seq 1 10); do
    echo "$i x $j = $((i * j))"
  done
done

Using <code>seq</code> works on systems without brace expansion but is slightly slower.

Complexity: O(n^2) time, O(1) space

Time Complexity

The script uses two nested loops each running n times, so it performs n × n = n² multiplications and prints.

Space Complexity

The script uses a fixed amount of memory for variables and output lines, so space is constant O(1).

Which Approach is Fastest?

Using for loops with brace expansion is fastest and simplest; while loops and seq add slight overhead but offer flexibility.

Approach	Time	Space	Best For
For loops with brace expansion	O(n^2)	O(1)	Simple and fast on modern Bash
While loops	O(n^2)	O(1)	More control, slightly longer code
Seq command	O(n^2)	O(1)	Compatibility on systems without brace expansion