CS201A- Data Structure
Arrays
Objectives
At the end of this lesson the student shld., be
able to:
1. Recognize the use of Arrays
2. Identify the different types of array
3. State the difference of one dimensional
arrays with multi-dimensional arrays in terms of
declaration, initialization and usage process
Arrays
• Arrays are objects that help us organize large
amounts of information
Outline
Declaring and Using Arrays
Arrays of Objects
Two-Dimensional Arrays
Arrays
• An array is an ordered list of values
The entire array Each value has a numeric index
has a single name
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
scores 79 87 94 82 67 98 87 81 74 91
An array of size N is indexed from zero to N-1
This array holds 10 values that are indexed from 0 to 9
Arrays
• A particular value in an array is referenced using
the array name followed by the index in brackets
• For example, the expression
scores[2]
refers to the value 94 (the 3rd value in the array)
• That expression represents a place to store a
single integer and can be used wherever an
integer variable can be used
Arrays
• For example, an array element can be
assigned a value, printed, or used in a
calculation:
scores[2] = 89;
scores[first] = scores[first] + 2;
mean = (scores[0] + scores[1])/2;
System.out.println ("Top = " + scores[5]);
Arrays
• The values held in an array are called array elements
• An array stores multiple values of the same type – the
element type
• The element type can be a primitive type or an object
reference
• Therefore, we can create an array of integers, an array
of characters, an array of String objects, an array of
Coin objects, etc.
• In Java, the array itself is an object that must be
instantiated
Arrays
• Another way to depict the scores array:
scores 79
87
94
82
67
98
87
81
74
91
Declaring Arrays
• The scores array could be declared as
follows:
int[] scores = new int[10];
• The type of the variable scores is int[] (an
array of integers)
• The reference variable scores is set to a new
array object that can hold 10 integers
Declaring Arrays
• Some other examples of array declarations:
float[] prices = new float[500];
boolean[] flags;
flags = new boolean[20];
char[] codes = new char[1750];
Using Arrays
• The iterator version of the for loop can be
used when processing array elements
for (int score : scores)
System.out.println (score);
• This is only appropriate when processing all array
elements from top (lowest index) to bottom
(highest index)
Bounds Checking
• Once an array is created, it has a fixed size
• An index used in an array reference must
specify a valid element
• That is, the index value must be in range 0 to N-
1
• The Java interpreter throws an
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException if an
array index is out of bounds
• This is called automatic bounds checking
Bounds Checking
• For example, if the array codes can hold 100
values, it can be indexed using only the
numbers 0 to 99
• If the value of count is 100, then the following
reference will cause an exception to be thrown:
System.out.println (codes[count]);
• It’s common to introduce off-by-one
problem
errors when
using arrays
for (int index=0; index <= 100; index++)
codes[index] = index*50 + epsilon;
Bounds Checking
• Each array object has a public constant called
length that stores the size of the array
• It is referenced using the array name:
scores.length
• Note that length holds the number of
elements, not the largest index
Alternate Array Syntax
• The brackets of the array type can be associated
with the element type or with the name of the
array
• Therefore the following two declarations are
equivalent:
float[] prices;
float prices[];
• The first format generally is more readable and
should be used
Initializer Lists
• An initializer list can be used to instantiate and
fill an array in one step
• The values are delimited by braces and
separated by commas
• Examples:
int[] units = {147, 323, 89, 933, 540,
269, 97, 114, 298, 476};
char[] letterGrades = {'A', 'B', 'C', 'D', ’F'};
Initializer Lists
• Note that when an initializer list is used:
– the new operator is not used
– no size value is specified
• The size of the array is determined by the
number of items in the initializer list
• An initializer list can be used only in the array
declaration
Arrays as Parameters
• An entire array can be passed as a parameter to a
method
• Like any other object, the reference to the array is
passed, making the formal and actual parameters
aliases of each other
• Therefore, changing an array element within the method
changes the original
• An individual array element can be passed to a method
as well, in which case the type of the formal parameter is
the same as the element type
Outline
Declaring and Using Arrays
Arrays of Objects
Two-Dimensional Arrays
Arrays of Objects
• The elements of an array can be object references
• The following declaration reserves space to store 5
references to String objects
String[] words = new String[5];
• It does NOT create the String objects themselves
• Initially an array of objects holds null references
• Each object stored in an array must be instantiated
separately
Arrays of Objects
• The words array when initially declared:
words -
-
-
-
-
• At this point, the following reference would throw
a NullPointerException:
System.out.println (words[0]);
Arrays of Objects
• After some String objects are created and
stored in the array:
words “friendship”
“loyalty”
“honor”
-
-
Arrays of Objects
• Keep in mind that String objects can be
created using literals
• The following declaration creates an array
object called verbs and fills it with four
String objects created using string literals
String[] verbs = {"play", "work", "eat", "sleep"};
Command-Line Arguments
• The signature of the main method indicates that it takes
an array of String objects as a parameter
• These values come from command-line arguments that
are provided when the interpreter is invoked
• For example, the following invocation of the interpreter
passes three String objects into main:
> java StateEval pennsylvania texas arizona
• These strings are stored at indexes 0-2 of the array
parameter of the main method
Outline
Declaring and Using Arrays
Arrays of Objects
Two-Dimensional Arrays
Two-Dimensional Arrays
• A one-dimensional array stores a list of
elements
• A two-dimensional array can be thought of as
a table of elements, with rows and columns
one two
dimension dimensions
Two-Dimensional Arrays
• To be precise, in Java a two-dimensional array is an
array of arrays
• A two-dimensional array is declared by specifying the
size of each dimension separately:
int[][] scores = new int[12][50];
• A array element is referenced using two index values:
value = scores[3][6]
• The array stored in one row can be specified using
one index
Two-Dimensional Arrays
Expression Type Description
table int[][] 2D array of integers, or
array of integer arrays
table[5] int[] array of integers
table[5][12] int integer
Multidimensional Arrays
• An array can have many dimensions – if it has more
than one dimension, it is called a multidimensional
array
• Each dimension subdivides the previous one into the
specified number of elements
• Each dimension has its own length constant
• Because each dimension is an array of array
references, the arrays within one dimension can be of
different lengths
– these are sometimes called ragged arrays
Multidimensional Array
Length = 3
Length = 6
Length = 4
raggedArray
Length = 5
Length = 5 Length = 2
