Returning text built in a loop

A method can build a String in a loop and return it. Start from the empty String "", and add a piece in each round with +=:

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        System.out.println(dashes(5));
        System.out.println("[" + dashes(3) + "]");
        System.out.println("[" + dashes(0) + "]");
    }

    public static String dashes(int count) {
        String line = "";
        for (int i = 0; i < count; i++) {
            line += "-";
        }
        return line;
    }
}

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[]

Returning the text, instead of printing it, means the caller can put it anywhere: on a line of its own, between brackets, or in front of other text on the same line. The next step uses exactly that to draw shapes.

(Java has a ready-made way to do this, "-".repeat(5). Here the point is the loop, so the challenges ask you to write it yourself.)