Arrays

(Homogeneous Data Types)

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What Is an Array?
• So far, you’ve have worked with variables one by one.
• In the real world, we combine single elements to
create larger entities with some meaning.
• In computer languages, lists are often implemented as
arrays.
• One way to organize items is in an ordered array or
list of items, such that the list can process data
(sorting, searching, filtering, etc.)
• Arrays and lists are homogeneous data structures of
“like things”, or similar types of elements, that can be
ordered and processed.
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What Is an Array? (cont’d.)
• Arrays and lists are homogeneous data structures of
“like things”, or similar types of elements, that can be
ordered and processed.
• One important exception!
◦ Although most programming languages require arrays to
hold the same data type in each “element”, PowerShell
does not require this.
◦ However, it is considered best practice to strongly type
an array to restrict it to one type.

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The Array in Computer Memory
• The array type is typically illustrated with a series of
contiguous memory locations.
• We access the elements, or actual values, of an array
with their index, in other words, their location.
Index 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Value 78 11 55 98 45 16 86 14 34 78

• The starting index often starts at 0 (rather than 1).

• The values can be of any data type, primitive or user-
defined.

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The Array in Computer Memory (cont’d.)
• An array variable is identified by a name. Let’s call
this array of strings “spices”.
Index Value
0 cardamon
1 cinnamon
2 cloves
3 coriander
4 fennel
5 ginger
6 nutmeg
7 paprika
8 saffron
9 turmeric

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Array Declarations
• The syntax below creates the spices array with five
elements in Bash and Powershell:
◦ Bash: declare –a spices=(5)
◦ PowerShell: $spices=[Array]::CreateInstance([Object],5)
• What are some of the similarities and differences
between these examples?

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Array Initializations
• Arrays can be declared and initialized at the same
time.
◦ In Bash:
◦ declare –a spices=(‘cardamon’ ‘paprika’ ‘ginger’ ‘saffron’ ‘turmeric’ )
◦ In PowerShell:
$spices = @(‘cardamon’,‘paprika’,‘ginger’,‘saffron’,‘turmeric’)
$spices = ‘cardamon’,‘paprika’,‘ginger’,‘saffron’,‘turmeric’
• What are the similarities and differences between
these three array declarations?

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Index Notation
• Index notation is used to access the elements of an
array.
• Most programming languages use square brackets []
as the array index operator.
• We can also assign values to array elements in a
program:
◦ Bash: spices[3]=‘cumin’
◦ PowerShell: $spices[3] = ‘cumin’

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Processing All Array Members
• We can visit all array elements using a for loop or built-in
methods with special characters. Below are some examples.
◦ Bash:
for index in “${spices[@]}”
do echo “$index”;
done
◦ PowerShell: simply type in $spices
or
foreach ( $index in $spices )
{
"[$index]"
}
or (with a descriptor)

$spices | ForEach-Object {“spice: [$PSItem]"}

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Key Aspects of Arrays
• Arrays in semantically similar in programming
languages (elements, index, length). However, they
differ in implementation and syntax. For example:
◦ Bash arrays are either indexed (numeric) or associative
(strings).
◦ PowerShell offers many ways to iterate across its array.
• Two key functions of arrays:
◦ Sorting: places elements of a list in a certain order.
◦ Searching: find an element based on an index

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Associative Arrays
• Some data types use a hash, or key, rather than an
index to access their associated value(s).
◦ A hash is a string that can directly access any element,
whether sorted or not.
◦ You will run into the key-value pair concept in many
other contexts in programming and scripting.
◦ Hashes are a key security feature in encrypted technologies
(e.g., Blockchain).
• These data types are referred to as associative arrays,
maps, dictionaries, among others.
• The “value” may be a primitive type, a record, a class,
or some other entity.
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Implementations
• Associative lists and maps can be implemented in
several ways, including:
◦ Associative arrays (Bash)
◦ Hash tables (PowerShell)
◦ Dictionaries (Python)
◦ Maps (Java)
• Associative arrays, dictionaries, and maps all use
hashes/keys to access elements/values.

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Bash and PowerShell Associative Arrays
• We can declare associative arrays in both Bash and
PowerShell.
◦ Bash
declare A spices=( [number]=1 [spice]=turmeric [color]=yellow )
◦ PowerShell
$spices = @{}
$spices = @{ number = 1; spices = “turmeric"; color = “yellow"}

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PowerShell Hashtables
• This video provides an overview of HashTables in
PowerShell (Borsen, 2021) [25:18].

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Bash Arrays
• This video describes Bash arrays (Bash Tutorial 6,
quidsup, 2016) [6:52]. We will work with the functions
and scripts mentioned in Module 6/Lab 4.

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Try It!
• Bash arrays are simpler and more complex at the
same time than in standard programming languages
such as Python/Java.
• Although Bash arrays may not seem as efficient or
intuitive to use as in other languages, it’s useful to
make comparisons since this course works mostly
with Bash.
• Read through this overview from Linux Magazine
(Fioretti, Linux Magazine, 2019), and try out a few
examples.

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Summary
• This lesson cover common aspects of arrays, such as:
◦ Indexed elements in brackets
◦ Fixed length
◦ Built-in libraries of functions
• We also looked at how arrays can be implemented in
Bash and PowerShell to provide you with a
comparison.
• You will become more familiar with the functionality
and syntax of arrays in a particular language as you
work with it.

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Resources on Associative Arrays
• Associative array in Bash (Yesmin, 2019)
• Take control of your data with associative arrays in
Bash (Kenlon, 2020)
• about_Hash_Tables (Microsoft, 2021)
• Top 51 PowerShell Examples You Should Learn
(SPGuides, 2018)

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Optional: History of Associative Arrays
• Watch Brian Kernighan, the historic co-developer of
Unix and the co-author of the first book on C, explain
associative arrays (or hashmaps) (Essentials: Brian
Kernighan on Associative Arrays – Computerphile,
2017) [10:33]

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Optional: The Concept of Dictionaries
• The PowerShell HashTable is a type of dictionary, as
noted in the Array slide deck. Dictionaries contain
records of pair mappings with a key and value and are
a feature of many languages.
• Watch a high-level explanation of the dictionary data
structure.

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