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Rail Fence Cipher Encryption Code

The document is a C program that implements the Rail Fence Cipher for encryption and decryption of a plaintext string without spaces. It prompts the user for the plaintext and the number of rails, then encrypts the text in a zigzag pattern and allows for decryption back to the original text. The program ensures that the number of rails is at least 2 and displays both the encrypted and decrypted text.

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antarasartale11
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6 views4 pages

Rail Fence Cipher Encryption Code

The document is a C program that implements the Rail Fence Cipher for encryption and decryption of a plaintext string without spaces. It prompts the user for the plaintext and the number of rails, then encrypts the text in a zigzag pattern and allows for decryption back to the original text. The program ensures that the number of rails is at least 2 and displays both the encrypted and decrypted text.

Uploaded by

antarasartale11
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

#include <stdio.

h>

#include <string.h>

#include <stdbool.h>

int main() {

char plaintext[100], ciphertext[100], decrypted[100];

int rails;

printf("Enter the plaintext (no spaces): ");

scanf("%s", plaintext);

printf("Enter number of rails (>=2): ");

scanf("%d", &rails);

if (rails < 2) {

printf("Number of rails must be at least 2.\n");

return 1;

int len = strlen(plaintext);

char rail[rails][len];

// Initialize the matrix with '\n'

for (int i = 0; i < rails; i++)

for (int j = 0; j < len; j++)


rail[i][j] = '\n';

// Fill matrix in a zigzag manner

int row = 0;

bool down = true;

for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {

rail[row][i] = plaintext[i];

if (row == 0)

down = true;

else if (row == rails - 1)

down = false;

row += down ? 1 : -1;

// Read the matrix row by row to get ciphertext

int index = 0;

for (int i = 0; i < rails; i++)

for (int j = 0; j < len; j++)

if (rail[i][j] != '\n')

ciphertext[index++] = rail[i][j];

ciphertext[index] = '\0';

printf("Encrypted Text: %s\n", ciphertext);


// Decryption

// Step 1: Fill placeholders ('*') in zigzag pattern

for (int i = 0; i < rails; i++)

for (int j = 0; j < len; j++)

rail[i][j] = '\n';

row = 0;

down = true;

for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {

rail[row][i] = '*';

if (row == 0)

down = true;

else if (row == rails - 1)

down = false;

row += down ? 1 : -1;

// Step 2: Replace '*' with ciphertext characters row by row

index = 0;

for (int i = 0; i < rails; i++)

for (int j = 0; j < len; j++)

if (rail[i][j] == '*' && index < len)


rail[i][j] = ciphertext[index++];

// Step 3: Read in zigzag order to get decrypted text

row = 0;

down = true;

index = 0;

for (int i = 0; i < len; i++) {

decrypted[index++] = rail[row][i];

if (row == 0)

down = true;

else if (row == rails - 1)

down = false;

row += down ? 1 : -1;

decrypted[index] = '\0';

printf("Decrypted Text: %s\n", decrypted);

return 0;

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