ARRAY

Array is a derived or user defined data type, which is used to store more than one
values of same data type. It means, it is used to store homogenous types of data.

Hence, in the case, variable name is same for more than one values of same data
type.

An array stores a fixed-size sequential collection of elements of the same type. An

array is used to store a collection of data, but it is often more useful to think of an
array as a collection of variables of the same type.
All arrays consist of contiguous memory locations. The lowest address corresponds
to the first element and the highest address to the last element.

Syntax: -
Dim a (10) as integer
Dim b (10) as single
Dim c (10) as string

Creating Arrays in VB.Net

To declare an array in VB.Net, you use the Dim statement. For example,
Dim intData(30) ' an array of 31 elements
Dim strData(20) As String ' an array of 21 strings
Dim twoDarray(10, 20) As Integer 'a two dimensional array of integers
Dim ranges(10, 100) 'a two dimensional array
You can also initialize the array elements while declaring the array. For example,
Dim intData() As Integer = {12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32}
Dim names() As String = {"Karthik", "Sandhya", _
"Shivangi", "Ashwitha", "Somnath"}
Dim miscData() As Object = {"Hello World", 12d, 16ui, "A"c}
There are two types of arrays: -
1. Single Dimensional Array
2. Multi Dimensional Array

1. SINGLE DIMENSIONAL ARRAY: -

When one dimension is mentioned with an array variable than it is known as Single
Dimensional Array.

Syntax: -
Dim variable (size) As Data type

Example: -

Dim a (10) As Integer

The memory is allocated by the array variable name either horizontally or vertically
and whole space is divided into different blocks according to the given size. Each
block is given the unique numerical number (starts from 0), known as INDEX
NUMBER / BLOCK NUMBER / POCKET NUMBER. Each block has the same size
and has capacity to hold one number at a time.

Example: -

Dim a (5) As Integer

0 1 2 3 4

Now, the value is assigned or retrieved to or from an array variable, by using the
variable name and index number.

_____________________________________
Assignment Retrieve
_____________________________________
a (2) = 10 | print a (2)
a (4) = 40 | print a (4)

The array variable can also be declared as follows: -

Syntax: -

Dim variable (v1 to v2) As Integer

Example: -
 Dim a (0 to 10) As Integer

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

2. MULTI- DIMENSIONAL ARRAY: -

When more than one dimension is mentioned in an array variable, then it is known as
Multi – Dimensional array.

They include Double Dimensional, Triple Dimensional etc.

Double Dimensional Array: -

When two dimensions is mentioned with an array variable, and then it is known as
Double Dimensional array.

Syntax: -

Dim variable (Size. Size) As Integer

The first ―size stands for row value and the second size stands for column value.

The memory space is allocated by the DDA variable name and whole space is divided
into different row and column according to specified dimensions. Each row and
column is numbered by an index number, starts from Zero (0).
Example: -

Dim a (2, 2) As Integer

The memory space is allocated as follows:

The combination of row and column is known as cell. So, the data is stored in DDA
according to cell wise.

We can also declare the DDA as follows:

Dim a (0 to 2, 0 to 2) As Integer
The elements in an array can be stored and accessed by using the index of the array.
The following program demonstrates this −
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
Dim n(10) As Integer ' n is an array of 11 integers '
Dim i, j As Integer
' initialize elements of array n '

For i = 0 To 10
n(i) = i + 100 ' set element at location i to i + 100
Next i
' output each array element's value '

For j = 0 To 10
Console.WriteLine("Element({0}) = {1}", j, n(j))
Next j
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Element(0) = 100
Element(1) = 101
Element(2) = 102
Element(3) = 103
Element(4) = 104
Element(5) = 105
Element(6) = 106
Element(7) = 107
Element(8) = 108
Element(9) = 109
Element(10) = 110

Dynamic Arrays

Dynamic arrays are arrays that can be dimensioned and re-dimensioned as par the
need of the program. You can declare a dynamic array using the ReDim statement.
Syntax for ReDim statement −
ReDim [Preserve] arrayname(subscripts)
Where,
• The Preserve keyword helps to preserve the data in an existing array, when
you resize it.
• arrayname is the name of the array to re-dimension.
• subscripts specifies the new dimension.
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
Dim marks() As Integer
ReDim marks(2)
marks(0) = 85
marks(1) = 75
marks(2) = 90

ReDim Preserve marks(10)

marks(3) = 80
marks(4) = 76
marks(5) = 92
marks(6) = 99
marks(7) = 79
marks(8) = 75

For i = 0 To 10
Console.WriteLine(i & vbTab & marks(i))
Next i
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
0 85
1 75
2 90
3 80
4 76
5 92
6 99
7 79
8 75
9 0
10 0

Multi-Dimensional Arrays

VB.Net allows multidimensional arrays. Multidimensional arrays are also called

rectangular arrays.
You can declare a 2-dimensional array of strings as −
Dim twoDStringArray(10, 20) As String
or, a 3-dimensional array of Integer variables −
Dim threeDIntArray(10, 10, 10) As Integer
The following program demonstrates creating and using a 2-dimensional array −
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
' an array with 5 rows and 2 columns
Dim a(,) As Integer = {{0, 0}, {1, 2}, {2, 4}, {3, 6}, {4, 8}}
Dim i, j As Integer
' output each array element's value '

For i = 0 To 4
For j = 0 To 1
Console.WriteLine("a[{0},{1}] = {2}", i, j, a(i, j))
Next j
Next i
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
a[0,0]: 0
a[0,1]: 0
a[1,0]: 1
a[1,1]: 2
a[2,0]: 2
a[2,1]: 4
a[3,0]: 3
a[3,1]: 6
a[4,0]: 4
a[4,1]: 8

Jagged Array

A Jagged array is an array of arrays. The following code shows declaring a jagged
array named scores of Integers −
Dim scores As Integer()() = New Integer(5)(){}
The following example illustrates using a jagged array −
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
'a jagged array of 5 array of integers
Dim a As Integer()() = New Integer(4)() {}
a(0) = New Integer() {0, 0}
a(1) = New Integer() {1, 2}
a(2) = New Integer() {2, 4}
a(3) = New Integer() {3, 6}
a(4) = New Integer() {4, 8}
Dim i, j As Integer
 ' output each array element's value

For i = 0 To 4
For j = 0 To 1
Console.WriteLine("a[{0},{1}] = {2}", i, j, a(i)(j))
Next j
Next i
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
a[0][0]: 0
a[0][1]: 0
a[1][0]: 1
a[1][1]: 2
a[2][0]: 2
a[2][1]: 4
a[3][0]: 3
a[3][1]: 6
a[4][0]: 4
a[4][1]: 8

The Array Class

The Array class is the base class for all the arrays in VB.Net. It is defined in the
System namespace. The Array class provides various properties and methods to work
with arrays.

Properties of the Array Class

The following table provides some of the most commonly used properties of
the Array class −

Sr.No Property Name & Description

1 IsFixedSize
Gets a value indicating whether the Array has a fixed size.

2 IsReadOnly
Gets a value indicating whether the Array is read-only.

3 Length
 Gets a 32-bit integer that represents the total number of elements in all the
dimensions of the Array.

4 LongLength
Gets a 64-bit integer that represents the total number of elements in all the
dimensions of the Array.

5 Rank
Gets the rank (number of dimensions) of the Array.

Methods of the Array Class

The following table provides some of the most commonly used methods of
the Array class −

Sr.No Method Name & Description

1 Public Shared Sub Clear (array As Array, index As Integer, length As

Integer)
Sets a range of elements in the Array to zero, to false, or to null, depending on
the element type.

2 Public Shared Sub Copy (sourceArray As Array, destinationArray As

Array, length As Integer)
Copies a range of elements from an Array starting at the first element and
pastes them into another Array starting at the first element. The length is
specified as a 32-bit integer.

3 Public Sub CopyTo (array As Array, index As Integer)

Copies all the elements of the current one-dimensional Array to the specified
one-dimensional Array starting at the specified destination Array index. The
index is specified as a 32-bit integer.

4 Public Function GetLength (dimension As Integer) As Integer

Gets a 32-bit integer that represents the number of elements in the specified
dimension of the Array.
5 Public Function GetLongLength (dimension As Integer) As Long
Gets a 64-bit integer that represents the number of elements in the specified
dimension of the Array.

6 Public Function GetLowerBound (dimension As Integer) As Integer

Gets the lower bound of the specified dimension in the Array.

7 Public Function GetType As Type

Gets the Type of the current instance (Inherited from Object).

8 Public Function GetUpperBound (dimension As Integer) As Integer

Gets the upper bound of the specified dimension in the Array.

9 Public Function GetValue (index As Integer) As Object

Gets the value at the specified position in the one-dimensional Array. The
index is specified as a 32-bit integer.

10 Public Shared Function IndexOf (array As Array,value As Object) As

Integer
Searches for the specified object and returns the index of the first occurrence
within the entire one-dimensional Array.

11 Public Shared Sub Reverse (array As Array)

Reverses the sequence of the elements in the entire one-dimensional Array.

12 Public Sub SetValue (value As Object, index As Integer)

Sets a value to the element at the specified position in the one-dimensional
Array. The index is specified as a 32-bit integer.

13 Public Shared Sub Sort (array As Array)

Sorts the elements in an entire one-dimensional Array using the IComparable
implementation of each element of the Array.

14 Public Overridable Function ToString As String

Returns a string that represents the current object (Inherited from Object).
For complete list of Array class properties and methods, please consult Microsoft
documentation.

Example

The following program demonstrates use of some of the methods of the Array class:
Module arrayApl
Sub Main()
Dim list As Integer() = {34, 72, 13, 44, 25, 30, 10}
Dim temp As Integer() = list
Dim i As Integer
Console.Write("Original Array: ")

For Each i In list

Console.Write("{0} ", i)
Next i
Console.WriteLine()
' reverse the array
Array.Reverse(temp)
Console.Write("Reversed Array: ")

For Each i In temp

Console.Write("{0} ", i)
Next i
Console.WriteLine()
'sort the array
Array.Sort(list)
Console.Write("Sorted Array: ")

For Each i In list

Console.Write("{0} ", i)
Next i
Console.WriteLine()
Console.ReadKey()
End Sub
End Module
When the above code is compiled and executed, it produces the following result −
Original Array: 34 72 13 44 25 30 10
Reversed Array: 10 30 25 44 13 72 34
Sorted Array: 10 13 25 30 34 44 72