Computer Programming 2: Arrays

What is the term used to describe the total number of elements in an array?

What is an array in computer programming?

What is an advantage of using arrays?

How are the elements of an array accessed?

What is the term used to describe the memory locations in an array?

What is the primary advantage of using an array to store data?

What is the purpose of the 'elements' field in an array declaration?

What type of data can be stored in an array?

How can you access a specific element in an array?

What is the effect of declaring an array without specifying its size and values?

What is the limitation of initializing an array with values in C++?

What is the benefit of using arrays instead of individual variables?

Introduction to Arrays

An array is a derived data type used to store a collection of data of the same type, consisting of contiguous memory locations.
Elements of an array can be of type int, char, float, or user-defined types like structures or objects.
The memory locations in an array are known as elements, and the total number of elements is called the length.
Elements of an array are accessed using their index or subscript.

Advantages of Arrays

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

Need for an Array

To store a large number of variables of the same type under a single variable.
For easy understanding of the program.
Examples: storing marks of 50 students or sales records of 100 salesmen.

Declaration of an Array

A typical declaration for an array in Visual C++ is: type name [elements];
type is a valid type (e.g., int, float), name is a valid identifier, and elements specifies the number of elements the array can contain.

Initializing Arrays

Arrays can be initialized using any of the following methods:
- With array size but without values: int myArray[5];
- With array size and values: int myArray[5]={4,8,9,10,3};
- Without array size but with values: int myArray[] ={4,8,9,10,3};
The number of values between braces { } should not exceed the number of elements in the array.

Learn about arrays in computer programming, including declaring, passing, sorting, and searching. Understand how to define, initialize, and manipulate arrays, as well as pass them to functions and use multi-subscripted arrays.