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02.Java Multidimensional Arrays

This tutorial covers Java multidimensional arrays, specifically 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional arrays, explaining their structure and initialization. It provides examples of creating and accessing elements in these arrays using both traditional for loops and for-each loops. The document emphasizes that each element in a multidimensional array is itself an array, and discusses the flexibility in row lengths compared to languages like C/C++.

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7 views

02.Java Multidimensional Arrays

This tutorial covers Java multidimensional arrays, specifically 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional arrays, explaining their structure and initialization. It provides examples of creating and accessing elements in these arrays using both traditional for loops and for-each loops. The document emphasizes that each element in a multidimensional array is itself an array, and discusses the flexibility in row lengths compared to languages like C/C++.

Uploaded by

David
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Java Multidimensional Arrays

In this tutorial, we will learn about the Java multidimensional array using 2-
dimensional arrays and 3-dimensional arrays with the help of examples.

Before we learn about the multidimensional array, make sure you know
about Java array.
A multidimensional array is an array of arrays. Each element of a
multidimensional array is an array itself. For example,

int[][] a = new int[3][4];

Here, we have created a multidimensional array named a . It is a 2-


dimensional array, that can hold a maximum of 12 elements,

2-dimensional Array
Remember, Java uses zero-based indexing, that is, indexing of arrays in Java
starts with 0 and not 1.

Let's take another example of the multidimensional array. This time we will
be creating a 3-dimensional array. For example,

String[][][] data = new String[3][4][2];


Here, data is a 3d array that can hold a maximum of 24 (3*4*2) elements of
type String .

How to initialize a 2d array in Java?


Here is how we can initialize a 2-dimensional array in Java.

int[][] a = {
{1, 2, 3},
{4, 5, 6, 9},
{7},
};

As we can see, each element of the multidimensional array is an array itself.


And also, unlike C/C++, each row of the multidimensional array in Java can be
of different lengths.

Initialization of 2-
dimensional Array
Example: 2-dimensional Array
class MultidimensionalArray {
public static void main(String[] args) {

// create a 2d array
int[][] a = {
{1, 2, 3},
{4, 5, 6, 9},
{7},
};

// calculate the length of each row


System.out.println("Length of row 1: " + a[0].length);
System.out.println("Length of row 2: " + a[1].length);
System.out.println("Length of row 3: " + a[2].length);
}
}
Run Code

Output:

Length of row 1: 3
Length of row 2: 4
Length of row 3: 1

In the above example, we are creating a multidimensional array named a .


Since each component of a multidimensional array is also an array
( a[0] , a[1] and a[2] are also arrays).
Here, we are using the length attribute to calculate the length of each row.

Example: Print all elements of 2d array Using Loop


class MultidimensionalArray {
public static void main(String[] args) {

int[][] a = {
{1, -2, 3},
{-4, -5, 6, 9},
{7},
};

for (int i = 0; i < a.length; ++i) {


for(int j = 0; j < a[i].length; ++j) {
System.out.println(a[i][j]);
}
}
}
}
Run Code

Output:

1
-2
3
-4
-5
6
9
7

We can also use the for...each loop to access elements of the multidimensional
array. For example,
class MultidimensionalArray {
public static void main(String[] args) {

// create a 2d array
int[][] a = {
{1, -2, 3},
{-4, -5, 6, 9},
{7},
};

// first for...each loop access the individual array


// inside the 2d array
for (int[] innerArray: a) {
// second for...each loop access each element inside the row
for(int data: innerArray) {
System.out.println(data);
}
}
}
}
Run Code

Output:

-2
3

-4

-5

In the above example, we are have created a 2d array named a . We then


used for loop and for...each loop to access each element of the array.

How to initialize a 3d array in Java?


Let's see how we can use a 3d array in Java. We can initialize a 3d array
similar to the 2d array. For example,

// test is a 3d array
int[][][] test = {
{
{1, -2, 3},
{2, 3, 4}
},
{
{-4, -5, 6, 9},
{1},
{2, 3}
}
};

Basically, a 3d array is an array of 2d arrays. The rows of a 3d array can also


vary in length just like in a 2d array.
Example: 3-dimensional Array
class ThreeArray {
public static void main(String[] args) {

// create a 3d array
int[][][] test = {
{
{1, -2, 3},
{2, 3, 4}
},
{
{-4, -5, 6, 9},
{1},
{2, 3}
}
};

// for..each loop to iterate through elements of 3d array


for (int[][] array2D: test) {
for (int[] array1D: array2D) {
for(int item: array1D) {
System.out.println(item);
}
}
}
}
}
Run Code

Output:

1
-2
3
2
3
4
-4
-5
6
9
1
2

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