Syntax: One Dimensional Array
| Method 1 | Type[] arrayReferenceName; //Recommended |
|---|---|
| Method 2 | Type arrayReferenceName[]; //Legal, but not recommended |
Syntax: Two Dimensional Array
| Method 1 | Type[] [] arrayReferenceName; //Recommended |
|---|---|
| Method 2 | Type arrayReferenceName[] []; //Legal, but not recommended |
Type can be either primitive or reference.
Examples,
| Primitive Array | Reference Array |
|---|---|
|
int[] numbers; double[] studentAvgs; char[] studentGrades; long[] pincodes; int[] [] numbers; |
String[] studentNames; Threads[] threads; Person[] persons; Animal[] animals; Fruits[] fruits; Vehicle[] vehicles; String[] [] strings; |
Method 1:
You declare an array by specifying the type of the element it will hold followed by square bracket then array reference name.
char[] studentGrades;
This allows better readability and anyone reading the code can easily tell that studentGrades is a reference to a char array object and not a char primitive.
Method 2:
You declare an array by specifying the type of the element it will hold followed by square bracket to the right of the array reference name.
char studentGrades[]; or char studentGrades []; String[] strings[]; //two dimensional array. Legal but not recommended.
This is legal declaration but less readable. Space between array reference name and [] is legal but bad.
- An array of type int (int[]) says that each element is of type int, i.e.) each element is just a int variable. Similarly, an array of type Person (Person[]) specifies that each element it can hold is of type Person.
- You can also declare an array by assigning default null value.
int[] numbers = null;
