Arrays

Chapter 6
 Outline
• Array Basics
• Arrays in Classes and Methods
• Sorting Arrays
• Multidimensional Arrays
 Introduction to Arrays
• An array is an object used to store a (possibly
large) collection of data.
• All the data stored in the array must be of the
same type.
• An array object has a small number of
predefined methods.
 Introduction to Arrays, cont.
• Sometimes you want to know several things
about a collection of data:
– the average
– the number of items below the average
– the number of items above the average
– etc.
• This requires all the items to be stored as
variables of one kind or another.
 Introduction to Arrays, cont.

• Arrays satisfy this need.

• Even though an array is an object in Java, it
can be convenient to think of it as a collection
of variables of the same type.
 Array Basics: Outline
• Creating and Accessing Arrays
• Array Details
• The length Instance Variable
• Initializing Arrays
 Creating and Accessing
Arrays

• example
double[] temperature = new double[7];
is like declaring seven variables of type
double, named
temperature[0], temperature[1],
temperature[2], temperature[3],
temperature[4], temperature[5], temperature[6].
 Creating and Accessing
Arrays, cont.
• These variables can be used just like any
other variables of type double.
• examples
temperature[3] = 32.0;
temperature[6] = temperature[3] + 5;
System.out.println(temperature[6]);
temperature[index+1] = 66.5;

• These variables are called indexed variables,

elements, or subscripted variables.
• The integer expression within the square
brackets is called the index (or subscript).
Creating and Accessing
Arrays, cont.
Creating and Accessing
Arrays, cont.
 Array Details
• syntax for creating an array
Base_Type[] Array_Name =
new Base_Type[Length];

• example
int[] pressure = new int[100];
or
int[] pressure;
pressure = new int[100];
 Array Details, cont.
• The type of the elements is called the base
type.
• The base type of an array can be any type
including a class type.
– for example,
Species[] entry = new Species[3];

• The number of elements is the length or size

of the array.
 Brackets[]
• Brackets [] serve three purposes:
– creating the type name
example: int[] pressure;
– creating the new array
pressure = new int[100];

– naming an indexed variable of the array

pressure[3] = keyboard.nextInt();
Array Terminology
 The length Instance
Variable
• An array has only one public instance
variable, namely length.
• The length variable stores the number of
elements the array can hold.
• Using Array_Name.length typically produces
clearer code than using an integer literal.
The length Instance
Variable, cont
 Indices and length
• The indices of an array start with 0 and end
with Array_Name.length-1.
• When a for loop is used to step through an
array, the loop control variable should start at
0 and end at length-1.

• example
for (lcv = 0; lcv < temperature.length;
index++)
 Array Index Out of Bounds
• Every index must evaluate to an integer
which is not less than 0 and not greater than
Array_Name.length-1.

• Otherwise, the index is said to be out of

bounds or invalid.
• An out-of-bounds index will produce a run-
time error.
 Incomplete Array Processing
• Loops fail to process an entire array correctly
when they
–begin with an index other than 0
–end with an index other than length-1.
• Examples
for (i = 1; i < oops.length-1; index++)
for (i = 1; i <= oops.length; index++)
for (i = 0; i <= oops.length; index++)
for (i = 0; i < oops.length-1; index++)
 Initializing Arrays
• An array can be initialized at the time it is
declared.
• example
double[] reading = {3,3, 15.8, 9.7];

– The size of the array is determined by the

number of values in the initializer list.
 Initializing Arrays, cont.
• Uninitialized array elements are set to the
default value of the base type.
• However, it’s better to use either an initializer
list or a for loop.
int[] count = new int[100];
for (int i = 0, i < count.length, i++)
a[i] = 0;
 Arrays in Classes and
Methods
• Arrays can be used as instance variables in
classes.
• Both an indexed variable of an array and an
entire array can be a argument of a method.
• Methods can return an indexed variable of an
array or an entire array.
• example
double[] a = new double[10];
SampleClass.change(a);
...
public static void change(double[] d)
 Array Subtleties

• If the base type of an array is a primitive type,

then a method to which an array element is
passed creates a copy of the array element,
and cannot change the original array
element.
• If the base type of an array is a class type,
then a method to which an array element is
passed creates an alias, and the referenced
object can be changed.
 Arguments for the Method
main
• Recall the heading for method main:
public static void main(String[] args)

• Method main takes an array of String values

as its argument.
• A default array of String values is when you
run a program.
 Arguments for the Method
main, cont.
• Alternatively, an array of String values can be
provided in the command line.
• example
java TestProgram Mary Lou

– args[0] is set to “Mary”

– args[1] is set to “Lou”

System.out.println(“Hello “ + args[0] +
“ “ + args[1]);
prints Hello Mary Lou.
 Use of = and == with Arrays
• The assignment operator = and the equality
operator ==, when used with arrays, behave
the same as when used with other objects.
– The assignment operator creates an alias,
not a copy of the array.
– The equality operator determines if two
references contain the same memory
address, not if two arrays contain the
same values.
 Making a Copy of an Array
• example
int[] a = new int[50];
int[] b = new int[50];
...
for (int j = 0; j < a.length; j++)
b[j] = a[j];
 Sorting Arrays: Outline
• Selection Sort
• Other Sorting Algorithms
 Sorting Arrays
• Sometime we want numbers in an array
sorted from smallest to largest, or from
largest to smallest.
• Sometimes we want the strings referenced by
an array to be in alphabetical order.
• Sorting techniques typically are easy to adapt
to sort any type that can be ordered.
 Selection Sort
• The selection sort arranges the values in an
an array so that
a[0] <= a[1] <= a[2] … <= a[a.length-1]

• The selection sort places the smallest item in

a[0], the next smallest item in a[1], and so on
for all but the last item.
for(i = 0; i <a.length-1; i++)
place the ith smallest item in a[i]
 Selection Sort, cont.
• Selection sort begins by finding a smallest
item in the array and swapping it with the item
in a[0].
• Selection sort continue by finding a smallest
item in the remainder of the array and
swapping it with the next item in array a.
• Selection sort terminates when only one item
remains.
Selection Sort, cont.
Selection Sort, cont.
Selection Sort, cont.
Selection Sort, cont.
 Swapping Elements
• To swap two elements a[i] and a[j], one of
them must be saved temporarily.
 Other Sorting Algorithms
• The selection sort is not particularly efficient,
but it is easy to code.
• More efficient algorithms, such as quicksort,
are more difficult to code.
 Multidimensional Arrays
• Introduction to Multidimensional Arrays
• Multidimensional-Array Basics
• Multidimensional-Array Parameters and
Returned Values
• Implementation of Multidimensional Arrays
• (optional) Ragged Arrays
• Programming Example
 Introduction to
Multidimensional Arrays
• An array with more than one index
sometimes is useful.
• example: savings account balances at
various interest rates for various numbers of
years
– columns for interest rates
– rows for years
• This two-dimensional table calls for a two-
dimensional array.
 Introduction to
Multidimensional Arrays, cont.
• An array with n indices is called an n-
dimensional array.
• The arrays we considered previously, which
had one index, were one-dimensional arrays.
 Introduction to
Multidimensional Arrays, cont.
Multidimensional-Array Basics
• example declaration
int[][] table = new int [10][6];

or
int[][] table;
table = new int[10][6];

• The number of bracket pairs in the

declaration is the same as the number of
indices.
 Multidimensional-Array
Basics, cont.
• syntax
Base_Type[]…[] Array_Name =
new Base_Type[Length_1]…[Length_n];
• examples
char[][] page = new char [100][80];
double[][][] threeDPicture =
new double[10][20][30];
SomeClass[][] entry =
new SomeClass[100][80];
Multidimensional-Array
Basics, cont.
Multidimensional-Array
Basics, cont.
 Multidimensional-Array
Parameters
• Methods may have multidimensional-array
parameters and return a multidimensional
array.
 Implementation of
Multidimensional Arrays
• Multidimensional arrays are implemented in
Java using one-dimensional arrays.
• Consider
int[][] table = new int[10][6];
– The array table is a one-dimensional array
of length 10.
– Its base type is int[].
– Therefore, it is an array of arrays.
 Implementation of
Multidimensional Arrays, cont.
• This permits us to use the length instance
variable, instead of an integer literal, to
control a for loop used to initialize or print the
values of the elements of an array.
• example
for (r = 0; r < table.length; r++)
for (c = 0; c < table[r].length; c++)
 (optional) Ragged Arrays
• Since a two-dimensional array in Java is an
array of arrays, each row can have a different
number of elements (columns).
• Arrays in which rows have different numbers
of elements are called ragged arrays.
• Example
int[][] b = new int[3][];
b[0] = new int[5];
b[1] = new int[7];
b[2] = new int[4];
 Summary
• You have learned about arrays and how to
use them in Java programs.
• You have learned how to use array
parameters and how to define methods that
return an array.
• You have learned the proper use of an array
as an instance variable.
• You have learned about multidimensional
arrays.