Computer Programming
C#
Lec.08
Salem Belgurzi
Topics
• Create an Array
• Access the Elements of an Array
• Array Length
• Other Ways to Create an Array
• Loop Through an Array
• The foreach Loop
• Two-Dimensional Arrays
Create an Array
• Arrays are used to store multiple values in a single variable, instead of
declaring separate variables for each value.
• To declare an array, define the variable type with square brackets:
• string[] cars;
• This declares a variable that holds an array of strings.
Create an Array
• To insert values to array, place the values inside curly braces separated
by a comma :
• string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
• To create an array of integers:
• int[] myNum = {10, 20, 30, 40};
Access the Elements of an Array
• We access an array element by referring to the index
number.
• Array indexes start with 0: [0] is the first element. [1] is the
second element, etc.
string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
Console.WriteLine(cars[1]);
// Outputs BMW
Change an Array Element
• To change the value of a specific element, refer to the index
number:
string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
cars[0] = "Opel";
Console.WriteLine(cars[0]);
// Now outputs Opel instead of Volvo
Array Length
• o find out how many elements an array has, use the Length
property:
string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
Console.WriteLine(cars.Length);
// Outputs 4
Other Ways to Create an Array
// Create an array of four elements, and add values later
string[] cars = new string[4];
// Create an array of four elements and add values right away
string[] cars = new string[4] {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
// Create an array of four elements without specifying the size
string[] cars = new string[] {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
// Create an array of four elements, omitting the new keyword,
// and without specifying the size
string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
Loop Through an Array
• You can loop through the array elements with the for loop,
and use the Length property to specify how many times the
loop should run.
string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford",
"Mazda"};
for (int i = 0; i < cars.Length; i++)
{
Console.WriteLine(cars[i]); }
}
The foreach Loop
• There is also a foreach loop, which is used exclusively to
loop through elements in an array:
foreach (type variableName in arrayName)
{
// code block to be executed
}
}
The foreach Loop
• The foreach method is easier to write, it does not require a
counter (using the Length property) as for loop, and it is more
readable.
• The following example outputs all elements in the cars array,
using a foreach loop:
string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
foreach (string i in cars)
{
Console.WriteLine(i);
} } }
Sort an Array
• There are many array methods available, for example Sort(),
which sorts an array alphabetically or in an ascending order:
// Sort a string
string[] cars = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
Array.Sort(cars);
foreach (string i in cars)
{
Console.WriteLine(i);
}
}
Sort an Array
// Sort an int
int[] myNumbers = {5, 1, 8, 9};
Array.Sort(myNumbers);
foreach (int i in myNumbers)
{
Console.WriteLine(i);
}
Multidimensional Arrays
• Previously, we learned about arrays, which is also known as
single dimension arrays.
• A multidimensional array is basically an array of arrays.
• Arrays can have any number of dimensions. The most
common are two-dimensional arrays (2D).
Two-Dimensional Arrays
• To create a 2D array, add each array within its own set of
curly braces, and insert a comma (,) inside the square
brackets:
int[,] numbers = { {1, 4, 2}, {3, 6, 8} };
• The single comma [,] specifies that the array is two-
dimensional. A three-dimensional array would have two
commas: int[,,].
Access Elements of a 2D Array
• To access an element of a two-dimensional array, we must
specify two indexes: one for the array, and one for the
element inside that array. Or better yet, one for the row and
one for the column.
int[,] numbers = { {1, 4, 2}, {3, 6, 8} };
Console.WriteLine(numbers[0, 2]); // Outputs 2
Loop Through a 2D Array
• We can easily loop through the elements of a two-
dimensional array with a foreach loop:
int[,] numbers = { {1, 4, 2}, {3, 6, 8} };
foreach (int i in numbers)
{
Console.WriteLine(i);
}
