Array Types

Array types are the second kind of reference types in Java. An array is an ordered collection, or numbered list, of values. The values can be primitive values, objects, or even other arrays, but all of the values in an array must be of the same type. The type of the array is the type of the values it holds, followed by the characters [].

For example:

int[] arrayOfIntegers; // int[] is an array type: array of integer
byte b; // byte is a primitive type
byte[] arrayOfBytes; // byte[] is an array type: array of byte 
byte[][] arrayOfArrayOfBytes; // byte[][] is another type: array of byte[] 
Point[] points; // Point[] is an array of Point objects

Creating Arrays

To create an array value in Java, you use the new keyword, just as you do to create an object. Arrays don't need to be initialized like objects do, however, so you don't pass a list of arguments between parentheses. What you must specify, though, is how big you want the array to be. If you are creating a byte[], for example, you must specify how many byte values you want it to hold. Array values have a fixed size in Java. Once an array is created, it can never grow or shrink. Specify the desired size of your array as a non-negative integer between square brackets:

byte[] buffer = new byte[1024];
String[] lines = new String[50];

Multidimensional Arrays

Addition of 2 matrices in java Byusing two dimensional array

Example:

class arraydemo{
public static void main(String args[]){
//creating two matrices
int a[][]={{1,3,4},{3,4,5}};
int b[][]={{1,3,4},{3,4,5}};

//creating another matrix to store the sum of two matrices
int c[][]=new int[2][3];

//adding and printing addition of 2 matrices
for(int i=0;i<2;i++){
for(int j=0;j<3;j++){
c[i][j]=a[i][j]+b[i][j];
System.out.print(c[i][j]+" ");
}
System.out.println();//new line
}
}}

Output:2 6 8
6 8 10

The new keyword performs this additional initialization automatically for you. It works with arrays with more than two dimensions as well:

float[][][] globalTemperatureData = new float[360][180][100];

When using new with multidimensional arrays, you do not have to specify a size for all dimensions of the array, only the leftmost dimension or dimensions. For example, the following two lines are legal:

float[][][] globalTemperatureData = new float[360][][]; 
float[][][] globalTemperatureData = new float[360][180][];

The first line creates a single-dimensional array, where each element of the array can hold a float[][]. The second line creates a two-dimensional array, where each element of the array is a float[]. If you specify a size for only some of the dimensions of an array, however, those dimensions must be the leftmost ones. The following lines are not legal:

float[][][] globalTemperatureData = new float[360][][100];  // Error!
float[][][] globalTemperatureData = new float[][180][100];  // Error!

---

• Prev
• Next

---