Arrays in Computer Programming 2

Study Notes

Introduction to Arrays

An array is a derived data type used to store a collection of data or variables of the same type.
Arrays consist of contiguous memory locations, with the lowest address corresponding to the first element and the highest address to the last element.

Characteristics of Arrays

Arrays can store a large number of values with a single name.
Arrays are used to process many values easily and quickly.
The values stored in an array can be sorted easily.
The search process can be applied on arrays easily.

Need for Arrays

To store a large number of variables of the same type under a single variable.
For easy understanding of the program.

Declaration of an Array

A typical declaration for an array in Visual C++ is: type name [elements];
type is a valid type (like int, float, etc.).
name is a valid identifier.
elements field specifies how many elements the array has to contain (number of elements that can be stored).

Initializing Arrays

Arrays can be initialized in three ways:
- With array size but without values, e.g., int myArray[];
- With array size and values, e.g., int myArray[] = {4, 8, 9, 10, 3};
- Without array size but with values, e.g., int myArray[] = {4, 8, 9, 10, 3};
The number of values between braces { } should not be greater than the number of elements in the array.

Description

Learn about arrays in computer programming, including declaring and initializing arrays, passing arrays to functions, sorting and searching arrays, and using multiple-subscripted arrays. Understand how to use arrays to store and manipulate data, and explore basic sorting techniques.