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Object Oriented Programming

Arrays
Introduction to Arrays
• An array is a data structure used to process a
collection of data that is all of the same type
– An array behaves like a numbered list of variables
with a uniform naming mechanism
– It has a part that does not change:
• the name of the array
– It has a part that can change:
• an integer in square brackets
– For example, given five scores:
score[0],score[1],score[2],score[3],score[4
]

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Creating and Accessing Arrays
• An array that behaves like a collection of variables, all
of type double, can be created using one statement
double[] score = new double[5];
• Or using two statements:
double[] score;
score = new double[5];
– The first statement declares the variable score to be of
the array type double[] (an array of doubles)
– The second statement creates an array with five numbered
variables of type double and makes the variable score
a name for the array

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Creating and Accessing Arrays
• The individual variables that together make up the
array are called indexed variables
– They can also be called subscripted variables or elements of
the array
– The number in square brackets is called an index or subscript
– The number of indexed variables in an array is called the
length or size of the array
– In Java indices must be numbered starting with 0, and
nothing else
score[0], score[1], score[2], score[3], score[4]

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Creating and Accessing Arrays
• When an array is created, the length of the array is
given in square brackets after the array type

• The indexed variables are then numbered starting

with 0, and ending with the integer that is one less
than the length of the array

• The declaration
double[] score = new double[5];
results in the 5 elements
score[0], score[1], score[2], score[3], score[4]

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Creating and Accessing Arrays
double[] score = new double[5];

• A variable may be used in place of the integer (i.e., in place of

the integer 5 above)
– The value of this variable can then be read from the
keyboard
– This enables the size of the array to be determined when
the program is run
double[] score = new double[count];
• An array can have indexed variables of any type, including any
class type

• All of the indexed variables in a single array must be of the

same type, called the base type of the array

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Declaring and Creating an Array
• An array is declared and created in almost the same way
that objects are declared and created:

BaseType[] ArrayName = new

BaseType[size];

– The size may be given as an expression that evaluates

to a nonnegative integer, for example, an int variable
char[] line = new char[80];
double[] reading = new double[count];
Person[] specimen = new Person[100];
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Referring to Arrays and Array Elements
• Each array element can be used just like any other single
variable by referring to it using an indexed expression:
score[0]
• The array itself (i.e., the entire collection of indexed
variables) can be referred to using the array name
(without any square brackets): score
• An array index can be computed when a program is run
– It may be represented by a variable: score[index]
– It may be represented by an expression that evaluates
to a suitable integer: score[next + 1]

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Using the score Array in a Program
• The for loop is ideally suited for performing array
manipulations:
for (int index = 0; index < 5; index++)
System.out.println(score[index]
+ " differs from max by "
+ (max - score[index]) );

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Three Ways to Use Square Brackets []
with an Array Name
• Square brackets can be used to create a type name:
double[] score;

• Square brackets can be used with an integer value as

part of the special syntax Java uses to create a new
array:
score = new double[5];

• Square brackets can be used to name an indexed

variable of an array:
max = score[0];

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The length Instance Variable
• An array is considered to be an object
• Since other objects can have instance variables, so can
arrays
• Every array has exactly one instance variable named
length
– When an array is created, the instance variable length
is automatically set equal to its size
– The value of length cannot be changed (other than by
creating an entirely new array using new)
double[] score = new double[5];
– Given score above, score.length has a value of 5

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Pitfall: Array Index Out of Bounds
• Array indices always start with 0, and always end with the
integer that is one less than the size of the array
– The most common programming error made when
using arrays is attempting to use a nonexistent array
index
• When an index expression evaluates to some value other
than those allowed by the array declaration, the index is
said to be out of bounds
– An out of bounds index will cause a program to
terminate with a run-time error message
– Array indices get out of bounds most commonly at the
first or last iteration of a loop that processes the array:
Be sure to test for this!

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Initializing Arrays
• An array can be initialized when it is declared
– Values for the indexed variables are enclosed in braces,
and separated by commas
– The array size is automatically set to the number of values
in the braces
int[] age = {2, 12, 1};
– Given age above, age.length has a value of 3

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Initializing Arrays
• Another way of initializing an array is by using a for loop

double[] reading = new double[100];

for (int index = 0; index < reading.length; index++){
reading[index] = 42.0;
}

• If the elements of an array are not initialized explicitly, they will

automatically be initialized to the default value for their base type

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An Array of Characters Is Not a String
• An array of characters is conceptually a list of
characters, and so is conceptually like a string
• However, an array of characters is not an object of the
class String
char[] a = {'A', 'B', 'C'};
String s = a; //Illegal!
• An array of characters can be converted to an object of
type String, however

(continued)

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An Array of Characters Is Not a String
• The class String has a constructor that has a single
parameter of type char[]
String s = new String(a);
– The object s will have the same sequence of characters as
the entire array a ("ABC"), but is an independent copy
• Another String constructor uses a subrange of a
character array instead
String s2 = new String(a,0,2);
– Given a as before, the new string object is "AB"

(continued)

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An Array of Characters Is Not a String
• An array of characters does have some things in
common with String objects
– For example, an array of characters can be output
using println
System.out.println(a);
– Given a as before, this would produce the output
ABC

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Arrays and References
• Like class types, a variable of an array type
holds a reference
– Arrays are objects
– A variable of an array type holds the address of
where the array object is stored in memory
– Array types are (usually) considered to be class
types

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Arrays are Objects
• An array can be viewed as a collection of indexed variables
• An array can also be viewed as a single item whose value is a collection
of values of a base type
– An array variable names the array as a single item
double[] a;
– A new expression creates an array object and stores the object in
memory
new double[10]
– An assignment statement places a reference to the memory address
of an array object in the array variable
a = new double[10];

– The previous steps can be combined into one statement

double[] a = new double[10];
(continued)

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Arrays with a Class Base Type
• The base type of an array can be a class type
Date[] holidayList = new Date[20];

• The above example creates 20 indexed reference

variables of type Date. It does not create 20
objects of the class Date
– Each of these indexed variables are automatically
initialized to null
– Any attempt to reference any them at this point would
result in a "null pointer exception" error message

(continued)

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Arrays with a Class Base Type
• Like any other object, each of the indexed variables requires a
separate invocation of a constructor using new (singly, or
perhaps using a for loop) to create an object to reference

holidayList[0] = new Date();

. . .
holidayList[19] = new Date();
OR
for (int i = 0; i < holidayList.length; i++)
holidayList[i] = new Date();

• Each of the indexed variables can now be referenced since

each holds the memory address of a Date object

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Array Parameters
• Both array indexed variables and entire arrays
can be used as arguments to methods
– An indexed variable can be an argument to a
method in exactly the same way that any variable
of the array base type can be an argument

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Array Parameters
double n = 0.0;
double[] a = {2.3, 4.5, 6.7, 8.9};
int i = 2;

Given the method declaration

public void myMethod (double x)

then all of the following are legal:

myMethod(n); //n evaluates to 0.0
myMethod(a[3]); //a[3] evaluates to 8.9
myMethod(a[i]); //i evaluates to 2,
//a[2] evaluates to 6.7

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Array Parameters
• An argument to a method may be an entire array
• Array arguments behave like objects of a class
– Therefore, a method can change the values stored in the
indexed variables of an array argument
• A method with an array parameter must specify the
base type of the array only
BaseType[]
– It does not specify the length of the array

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Array Parameters
The following method, doubleElements, specifies an array of
double as its single argument:

public class SampleClass{

public static void doubleElements(double[] a){
int i;
for (i = 0; i < a.length; i++)
a[i] = a[i] * 2;
. . .
}
. . .
}

(continued)
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Array Parameters
• Arrays of double may be defined as follows:
double[] a = new double[10];
double[] b = new double[30];
• Given the arrays above, the method doubleElements
from class SampleClass can be invoked as follows:
SampleClass.doubleElements(a);
SampleClass.doubleElements(b);
– Note that no square brackets are used when an entire
array is given as an argument
– Note also that a method that specifies an array for a
parameter can take an array of any length as an argument

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Use of = and == with Arrays
• Because an array variable contains the memory
address of the array it names (it’s a reference), the
assignment operator (=) only copies this memory
address
– It does not copy the values of each indexed variable
– Using the assignment operator b = a; will make two array
variables be different names for the same array
– The memory address in a is now the same as the memory
address in b: They reference the same array

(continued)

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Use of = and == with Arrays

• A for loop is usually used to make two different arrays

have the same values in each indexed position:

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

b[i] = a[i];
}

– Note that the above code will not make b an exact copy
of a, unless a and b have the same length
(continued)

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Use of = and == with Arrays
• For the same reason, the equality operator (==) only
tests two arrays to see if they are stored in the same
location in memory
– (a == b) does not test two arrays to see if they contain
the same values

– The result of the above boolean expression will be true if

a and b share the same memory address (and, therefore,
reference the same array), and false otherwise

(continued)

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Use of = and == with Arrays

• In the same way that an equals method can

be defined for a class, an equalsArray
method can be defined for a type of array
– This is how two arrays must be tested to see if they
contain the same elements

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Use of = and == with Arrays
public static boolean equalsArray(int[] a,
int[] b){

if (a.length != b.length) return false;

else{
int i = 0;
while (i < a.length){
if (a[i] != b[i])
return false;
i++;
}
}
return true;
}
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Arguments for the Method main
• The heading for the main method of a program has
a parameter for an array of String
– It is usually called args by convention
public static void main(String[] args)
– Note that since args is a parameter, it could be replaced
by any other non-keyword identifier
• If a Java program is run without giving an argument
to main, then a default empty array of strings is
automatically provided

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Arguments for the Method main

• If a program requires that the main method

be provided an array of strings argument, each
element must be provided from the command
line when the program is run
java SomeProgram Hi ! there
– This will set args[0] to "Hi", args[1] to "!",
and args[2] to "there"
– It will also set args.length to 3

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Methods That Return an Array
• In Java, a method may also return an array
– The return type is specified in the same way that an array
parameter is specified. This method returns an array of int

public static int[] incrementArray(int[] a,

int increment)
{
int[] temp = new int[a.length];
for (int i = 0; i < a.length; i++)
temp[i] = a[i] + increment;
return temp;
}

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Privacy Leaks with Array Instance Variables
• If an accessor method does return the contents of an
array, special care must be taken
– Just as when an accessor returns a reference to any private
object
public double[] getArray(){
return anArray;
}
– The example above will result in a privacy leak.
– Why is this so?

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Privacy Leaks with Array Instance Variables
• The previous accessor method would simply return a reference
to the array anArray itself

• Instead, an accessor method should return a reference to a deep

copy of the private array object
– Below, a is an array which is an instance variable of the class containing
the getArray method

public double[] getArray(){

double[] temp = new double[a.length];
for (int i = 0; i < a.length; i++)
temp[i] = a[i];
return temp
}

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Privacy Leaks with Array Instance Variables
• If a private instance variable is an array that has a class as its
base type, then copies must be made of each class object in
the array when the array is copied. Here b is an array of class
types and an instance variable of the class containing the
getArray method
public ClassType[] getArray(){
ClassType[] temp = new ClassType[b.length];
for (int i = 0; i < b.length; i++)
temp[i] = new ClassType(b[i]);
return temp;
}

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Multidimensional Arrays
• It is sometimes useful to have an array with more
than one index
• Multidimensional arrays are declared and created in
basically the same way as one-dimensional arrays
– You simply use as many square brackets as there are
indices
– Each index must be enclosed in its own brackets
double[][]table = new double[100][10];
int[][][] figure = new int[10][20][30];
Person[][] = new Person[10][100];

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Multidimensional Arrays
• Multidimensional arrays may have any number of
indices, but perhaps the most common number is
two
– Two-dimensional array can be visualized as a two-
dimensional display with the first index giving the row, and
the second index giving the column
char[][] a = new char[5][12];
– Note that, like a one-dimensional array, each element of a
multidimensional array is just a variable of the base type
(in this case, char)

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Multidimensional Arrays
• In Java, a two-dimensional array, such as a, is actually
an array of arrays
– The array a contains a reference to a one-dimensional
array of size 5 with a base type of char[]
– Each indexed variable (a[0], a[1], etc.) contains a
reference to a one-dimensional array of size 12, also with a
base type of char[]
• A three-dimensional array is an array of arrays of
arrays, and so forth for higher dimensions

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Two-Dimensional Array as an
Array of Arrays (Part 1 of 2)

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Two-Dimensional Array as an
Array of Arrays (Part 2 of 2)

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Using the length Instance Variable
char[][] page = new char[30][100];
• The instance variable length does not give the total
number of indexed variables in a two-dimensional array
– Because a two-dimensional array is actually an array
of arrays, the instance variable length gives the
number of first indices (or "rows") in the array
• page.length is equal to 30
– For the same reason, the number of second indices
(or "columns") for a given "row" is given by
referencing length for that "row" variable
• page[0].length is equal to 100

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Using the length Instance Variable
• The following program demonstrates how a nested for
loop can be used to process a two-dimensional array
– Note how each length instance variable is used

int row, column;

for (row = 0; row < page.length; row++)
for (column = 0; column < page[row].length;
column++)
page[row][column] = 'Z';

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Multidimensional Array Parameters
and Returned Values
• Methods may have multidimensional array
parameters
– They are specified in a way similar to one-dimensional
arrays
– They use the same number of sets of square brackets as
they have dimensions
public void myMethod(int[][] a)
{ . . . }
– The parameter a is a two-dimensional array

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Multidimensional Array Parameters
and Returned Values
• Methods may have a multidimensional array
type as their return type
– They use the same kind of type specification as for
a multidimensional array parameter
public double[][] aMethod()
{ . . . }
– The method aMethod returns an array of
double

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A Grade Book Class
• As an example of using arrays in a program, a class
GradeBook is used to process quiz scores
• Objects of this class have three instance variables
– grade: a two-dimensional array that records the grade of
each student on each quiz
– studentAverage: an array used to record the average
quiz score for each student
– quizAverage: an array used to record the average
score for each quiz

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A Grade Book Class
• The score that student 1 received on quiz number 3
is recorded in grade[0][2]
• The average quiz grade for student 2 is recorded in
studentAverage[1]
• The average score for quiz 3 is recorded in
quizAverage[2]
• Note the relationship among the three arrays

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The 2-Dimensional Array grade

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THANK YOU

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