This article is part of our on-going C programming series.
There are times while writing C code, you may want to store multiple items of same type as contiguous bytes in memory so that searching and sorting of items becomes easy. For example:
- Storing a string that contains series of characters. Like storing a name in memory.
- Storing multiple strings. Like storing multiple names.
C programming language provides the concept of arrays to help you with these scenarios.
1. What is an Array?
An array is a collection of same type of elements which are sheltered under a common name.
An array can be visualised as a row in a table, whose each successive block can be thought of as memory bytes containing one element. Look at the figure below :
An Array of four elements:
+===================================================+ | elem1 | elem2 | elem3 | elem4 | +===================================================+
The number of 8 bit bytes that each element occupies depends on the type of array. If type of array is ‘char’ then it means the array stores character elements. Since each character occupies one byte so elements of a character array occupy one byte each.
2. How to Define an Array?
An array is defined as following :
<type-of-array> <name-of-array> [<number of elements in array>];
- type-of-array: It is the type of elements that an array stores. If array stores character elements then type of array is ‘char’. If array stores integer elements then type of array is ‘int’. Besides these native types, if type of elements in array is structure objects then type of array becomes the structure.
- name-of-array: This is the name that is given to array. It can be any string but it is usually suggested that some can of standard should be followed while naming arrays. At least the name should be in context with what is being stored in the array.
- [number of elements]: This value in subscripts [] indicates the number of elements the array stores.
For example, an array of five characters can be defined as :
char arr[5];
3. How to Initialize an Array?
An array can be initialized in many ways as shown in the code-snippets below.
Initializing each element separately. For example :
int arr[10];
int i = 0;
for(i=0;i<sizeof(arr);i++)
{
arr[i] = i; // Initializing each element seperately
}
Initializing array at the time of declaration. For example :
int arr[] = {'1','2','3','4','5'};
In the above example an array of five integers is declared. Note that since we are initializing at the time of declaration so there is no need to mention any value in the subscripts []. The size will automatically be calculated from the number of values. In this case, the size will be 5.
Initializing array with a string (Method 1):
Strings in C language are nothing but a series of characters followed by a null byte. So to store a string, we need an array of characters followed by a null byte. This makes the initialization of strings a bit different. Let us take a look :
Since strings are nothing but a series of characters so the array containing a string will be containing characters
char arr[] = {'c','o','d','e','\0'};
In the above declaration/initialization, we have initialized array with a series of character followed by a ‘\0’ (null) byte. The null byte is required as a terminating byte when string is read as a whole.
Initializing array with a string (Method 2):
char arr[] = "code";
Here we neither require to explicitly wrap single quotes around each character nor write a null character. The double quotes do the trick for us.
4. Accessing Values in an Array
Now we know how to declare and initialize an array. Lets understand, how to access array elements. An array element is accessed as :
int arr[10];
int i = 0;
for(i=0;i<sizeof(arr);i++)
{
arr[i] = i; // Initializing each element separately
}
int j = arr[5]; // Accessing the 6th element of integer array arr and assigning its value to integer 'j'.
As we can see above, the 6th element of array is accessed as ‘arr[5]’.
Note that for an array declared as int arr[5]. The five values are represented as: arr[0] arr[1] arr[2] arr[3] arr[4] and not arr[1] arr[2] arr[3] arr[4] arr[5]
The first element of array always has a subscript of ‘0’
5. Array of Structures
The following program gives a brief idea of how to declare, initialize and use array of structures.
#include<stdio.h>
struct st{
int a;
char c;
};
int main()
{
struct st st_arr[3]; // Declare an array of 3 structure objects
struct st st_obj0; // first structure object
st_obj0.a = 0;
st_obj0.c = 'a';
struct st st_obj1; //Second structure object
st_obj1.a = 1;
st_obj1.c = 'b';
struct st st_obj2; // Third structure object
st_obj2.a = 2;
st_obj2.c = 'c';
st_arr[0] = st_obj0; // Initializing first element of array with first structure object
st_arr[1] = st_obj1; // Initializing second element of array with second structure object
st_arr[2] = st_obj2; // Initializing third element of array with third structure object
printf("\n First Element of array has values of a = [%d] and c = [%c]\n", st_arr[0].a, st_arr[0].c);
printf("\n Second Element of array has values of a = [%d] and c = [%c]\n", st_arr[1].a, st_arr[1].c);
printf("\n Third Element of array has values of a = [%d] and c = [%c]\n", st_arr[2].a, st_arr[2].c);
return 0;
}
The output of the above program comes out to be :
$ ./strucarr First Element of array has values of a = [0] and c = [a] Second Element of array has values of a = [1] and c = [b] Third Element of array has values of a = [2] and c = [c]
6. Array of Char Pointers
The following program gives a brief Idea of how to declare an array of char pointers :
#include<stdio.h>
int main()
{
// Declaring/Initializing three characters pointers
char *ptr1 = "Himanshu";
char *ptr2 = "Arora";
char *ptr3 = "TheGeekStuff";
//Declaring an array of 3 char pointers
char* arr[3];
// Initializing the array with values
arr[0] = ptr1;
arr[1] = ptr2;
arr[2] = ptr3;
//Printing the values stored in array
printf("\n [%s]\n", arr[0]);
printf("\n [%s]\n", arr[1]);
printf("\n [%s]\n", arr[2]);
return 0;
}
The output of the above program is :
$ ./charptrarr [Himanshu] [Arora] [TheGeekStuff]
7. Pointer to Arrays
Pointers in C Programming language is very powerful. Combining pointers with arrays can be very helpful in certain situations.
As to any kind of data type, we can have pointers to arrays also. A pointer to array is declared as :
<data type> (*<name of ptr>)[<an integer>]
For example :
int(*ptr)[5];
The above example declares a pointer ptr to an array of 5 integers.
Lets look at a small program for demonstrating this :
#include<stdio.h>
int main(void)
{
char arr[3];
char(*ptr)[3];
arr[0] = 'a';
arr[1] = 'b';
arr[2] = 'c';
ptr = &arr;
return 0;
}
In the above program, we declared and initialized an array ‘arr’ and then declared a pointer ‘ptr’ to an array of 3 characters. Then we initialized ptr with the address of array ‘arr’.
8. Static vs Dynamic Arrays
Static arrays are the ones that reside on stack. Like :
char arr[10];
Dynamic arrays is a popular name given to a series of bytes allocated on heap. this is achieved through malloc() function. Like :
char *ptr = (char*)malloc(10);
The above line allocates a memory of 10 bytes on heap and we have taken the starting address of this series of bytes in a character pointer ptr.
Static arrays are used when we know the amount of bytes in array at compile time while the dynamic array is used where we come to know about the size on run time.
9. Decomposing Array into Pointers
Internally, arrays aren’t treated specially, they are decomposed into pointers and operated there-on. For example an array like :
char arr[10];
When accessed like :
arr[4] = 'e';
is decomposed as :
*(arr + 4) = 'e'
So we see above that the same old pointers techniques are used while accessing array elements.
10. Character Arrays and Strings
Mostly new programmers get confused between character arrays and strings. Well, there is a very thin line between the two. This thin line only comprises of a null character ‘\0’ . If this is present after a series of characters in an array, then that array becomes a string.
This is an array:
char arr[] = {'a', 'b', 'c'};
This is a string:
char arr[] = {'a', 'b', 'c', '\0'};
Note : A string can be printed through %s format specifier in printf() while an printing an array through %s specifier in printf() is a wrong practice.
11. Bi-dimensional and Multi-dimensional Arrays
The type of array we discussed until now is single dimensional arrays. As we see earlier, we can store a set of characters or a string in a single dimensional array. What if we want to store multiple strings in an array. Well, that wont be possible using single dimensional arrays. We need to use bi-dimensional arrays in this case. Something like :
char arr[5][10];
The above declaration can be thought of as 5 rows and 10 columns. Where each row may contain a different name and columns may limit the number of characters in the name. So we can store 5 different names with max length of 10 characters each.
Similarly, what if we want to store different names and their corresponding addresses also. Well this requirement cannot be catered even by bi-dimensional arrays. In this case we need tri-dimensional (or multi-dimensional in general) arrays. So we need something like :
char arr[5][10][50];
So we can have 5 names with max capacity of 10 characters for names and 50 characters for corresponding addresses.
Since this is an advanced topic, So we won’t go into practical details here.
12. A Simple C Program using Arrays
Consider this simple program that copies a string into an array and then changes one of its characters :
#include<stdio.h>
#include<string.h>
int main(void)
{
char arr[4];// for accommodating 3 characters and one null '\0' byte.
char *ptr = "abc"; //a string containing 'a', 'b', 'c', '\0'
memset(arr, '\0', sizeof(arr)); //reset all the bytes so that none of the byte contains any junk value
strncpy(arr,ptr,sizeof("abc")); // Copy the string "abc" into the array arr
printf("\n %s \n",arr); //print the array as string
arr[0] = 'p'; // change the first character in the array
printf("\n %s \n",arr);//again print the array as string
return 0;
}
I think the program is self explanatory as I have added plenty of comments. The output of the above program is :
$ ./array_pointer abc pbc
So we see that we successfully copied the string into array and then changed the first character in the array.
13. No Array Bound Check in a C Program
What is array bound check? Well this is the check for boundaries of array declared. For example :
char arr[5];
The above array ‘arr’ consumes 5 bytes on stack and through code we can access these bytes using :
arr[0], arr[1], arr[2], arr[3], arr[4]
Now, C provides open power to the programmer to write any index value in [] of an array. This is where we say that no array bound check is there in C. SO, misusing this power, we can access arr[-1] and also arr[6] or any other illegal location. Since these bytes are on stack, so by doing this we end up messing with other variables on stack. Consider the following example :
#include<stdio.h>
unsigned int count = 1;
int main(void)
{
int b = 10;
int a[3];
a[0] = 1;
a[1] = 2;
a[2] = 3;
printf("\n b = %d \n",b);
a[3] = 12;
printf("\n b = %d \n",b);
return 0;
}
In the above example, we have declared an array of 3 integers but try to access the location arr[3] (which is illegal but doable in C) and change the value kept there.
But, we end up messing with the value of variable ‘b’. Cant believe it?, check the following output . We see that value of b changes from 10 to 12.
$ ./stk b = 10 b = 12
My name is Ramesh Natarajan. I will be posting instruction guides, how-to, troubleshooting tips and tricks on Linux, database, hardware, security and web. My focus is to write articles that will either teach you or help you resolve a problem. Read more about
Comments on this entry are closed.
something wrong in “4. Accessing Values in an Array”
for(i=0;i
The code blocks in 3. and 4. are incomplete.
@Celaleddin, @Cas,
Thanks for pointing it out. It is fixed.
@Cas – Correction: The code blocks in 3 and 4 do not render properly in FF
The last line of the code block for example 4 either has an incorrect array index or the comment is incorrect.
“int j = arr[5]; // Accessing the 5th element of integer array arr and assigning its value to integer ‘j’.”
If the index is wrong it should be ‘int j = arr[4];’ if your trying to access the 5th element or if you really want the ‘int j = arr[5];’ (5th index) the comment should read ‘// Accessing the 6th element…’
The calculation of the length of the array is wrong. The sizeof operator returns the size in bytes of the operand. To get the length of an array we have to divide by the size of an item. Like this:
for(i=0;i<sizeof(arr)/sizeof(arr[0]);i++)
My sincere apologies for some small mistakes in this article. I appreciate the efforts of the members who pointed out at the loop holes. I’ll make sure that these type of mistakes will not happen in any of my future articles.
@ Jero Granizo, just to leave here a little bit more information.
I would not call it incorrect but rather inaccurate, or even dangerous.
The sizeof function computes the size of a datatype, as in the number of bytes. So the author is assuming the int variable to have 1 byte of size, which may be correct. An unsigned char type declaration would be a more safer choice.
But as Jero Granizo shows, the most portable/compatible solution is dividing.
The following code has an error
int arr[10];
int i;
for(i=0;i<sizeof(arr);i++)
{
arr[i] = i; // Initializing each element seperately
}
The size of the array is given by sizeof(arr)/sizeof(int)
Using just sizeof(arr) will yield 10*4=40 and the for will iterate from 0 to 39 causing an memory access violation!
hi.. my name is sharma mahendra i want to laern two and multy dimenttioanl array…
please give me example in array in two and multy dimentioanl …array delete and update data…
hai i am balamurugan now i am analysing the array concept.
i want know the various application in an array………
main() { int[2][2][2]={{10,2,3,4}},{5,6,7,8}}; int *p,*q; p=&a[2][2][2]; *q=***a; printf(“%d—-%d”,*p,*q); getch(); } what is the output and exlain the output
Refrring to the tri-dimensional array example you have given-
char arr[5][10][50];
I think the explanation is wrong. There will be a total of 5x10x50 characters(2500 chars).
So if you assume 5 names each with max of 10 chars, you will have 490 chars for address for each of the 5 names.
Please help me to do programme on matrix multiplication,upper triangular matrix and transpose
plz,give me all array example
Pointer to Array’s saved me. Working with GLib to make a list of arrays. Only way I could figure out how to access them was with:
int (a*)[] = list->data;
int ele = (*a)[0];
please give me 2 dimensional array
can i ask a favor .. give me some of examples in one problem of link list and array having flow chart ,pseuducode and simulation in each. 🙂 tnx
Good article
hey guyz.. good day! this is urgent.. i need this project before january 23,2013. hope u can help me..!! thanks in advanced!!
output like this:
Enter number of subject: //max subject 10 //example 3
Enter 1 subject: math
Enter 2 subject: science
Enter 3 subject: english
Enter grade in math: //students grade. //ex. 80
Enter grade in science: 85
Enter grade in english: 90
math: 80
science: 85
english: 90
sum = 225/3
average is: 85
The highest suject is _________ which is ______.
//so The highest suject is ENGLISH which is 90.
really helpfull…
Ok hi, I have been wondering around and I have summbled on this statement>
What is an Array?
An array is a collection of same type of elements which are sheltered under a common name.
The question arise from this one. Have you ever, ever, tried to use union, and records with array. Your statement don’t make any sens.
After you have tried things, i had suggested you, there would be different opinion in your mind.
Yes, tehnickly they take enough space for the biggest data, but they all are not of same tipe…
Before saying something like that, you have to see the bigger picture. Yes, I have red many books, and wrote many programs… and so on… but the statement is not correct. That is my point of view.
If necessery, i will provide small program to colaborate my statements…
Ok have nice day, or night, whatever apply to tyo
oh well so so nice info thnx for sharing…
Hai frnds for me one doubt…
In array we are using subscript value that is char a[5], here 5 is used to get 5 elements(aaaaa) or 5 strings(aaaaa,bbb,ccc,dd,eee)
thank u soooo much now i was cleared in array concept..
for 3. Initializing, the upper limit of i should be sizeof(arr)/sizeof(int)
hy i m saad , plz define arry with any good example
#include
#include
int main()
{
int p;
printf(“Enter the value of parameter: “);
scanf(“%d”,&p);
int ar[12][12];
int i=0;
int j=0;
for(i=0;i<12;i++)
{ for(j=0;j<12;j++)
{ printf("\nEnter the value of %d row, %d column : ",i+1,j+1);
scanf("%d",&ar[i][j]);
}
}
for(i=0;i<12;i++)
{ for( j=0;j=p)
{ ar[i][j]=1;
}
else ar[i][j]=0;
}
}
printf(“\n\n\n\n”);
for(i=0;i<12;i++)
{ for(j=0;j<12;j++)
{ printf(" %d",ar[i][j]);
}
printf("\n");
}
getch();
return 0;
}
when i am running this program in DEVC++
it is not taking tha value of the array. it is giving its own values .
@Tamil, char[5] prints only 5 characters. that is [A,A,A,A,A].
It helps me a lot, thanks.
write a program to merge two arrays
Hi I am trying to draw a roulette table in c. I have used lots of individual filled arc functions to make up the circle…….(see below) I won’t put the full code unless you want it but my question is, How do I use an array to make my code tidy and faster? I am new to code and I might have the wrong idea completely if so point me in the right direction or I can send full code to explain better. Also I can’t work out how to put numbers around the arc like a roulette wheel. I will need to animate it in time and place bets/selections. This is just a c programming project so not real betting just an exercise in learning c.
Thank you.
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 360/37, 2*360/37, red, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 2*360/37, 3*360/37, black, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 3*360/37, 4*360/37, red, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 4*360/37, 5*360/37, black, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 5*360/37, 6*360/37, red, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 6*360/37, 7*360/37, black, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 7*360/37, 8*360/37, red, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 8*360/37, 9*360/37, black, gdArc);
gdImageFilledArc(gdImage, 400, 400, 790, 790, 9*360/37, 10*360/37, red, gdArc);
given examples are to good…….thank u sir
8. WAP to print octal equivalent of any decimal number.
Point 3 is not completely correct.
In this example:
int arr[10];
int i = 0;
for(i=0;i<sizeof(arr);i++)
{
arr[i] = i; // that's an assignment of value!!! it is not an initialization!!!
}
Example three is incorrect!
int arr[] = {1,0,1,etc..}
remove the quotes around the numbers otherwise it will be using the ascii values instead! 48,49
also,
for(i=0;i<sizeof(arr);i++) is wrong.
should be: for(i=0;i < sizeof(arr)/sizeof(arr[0]);i++)
I want simple methord of c
Write a C program to accept 10 numbers and count total number of even numbers & odd numbers using array.
Hii,I always confuse about pointer to an array but it helps me alot!
thnx alot
define Arrays Topic
5[ch] prg in array tel me about that
Coding for binary search of array using simple Clanguage
Plz give some small array programs in c
how can I go about solving a system of equation by array matrix using c language
I understude the basic of array……
define the meaning of ar[12][12]
i m a student of bca and i want to know some simple program means sorting, matrix searching and its method that how to i learn theseprograms
i want to know that how to use the for loop in any array programme and becomes very difficultis to read tis
I declared array of 5 elements
But it accepts 6 into elements
Why is it so?
And when I give printf fun then it displayed 5 elements
Then why it asked 6 elements from user whereas user declared it array of 6 into elements????
Plz give me reply on my email Id
nice explanation thank u
Thanks for teach me
Thanks for teach me.
But pls send me in my email total explanation of array with best example
i can’t understand the meaning of following line in below mentioned c program
printf(“%d”,-2[array]);
c program is :
#include
int main()
{
int array[]={10,20,30,40};
printf(“%d”,-2[array]);
return 0;
}
The output of the above c program is -30 but i m unable to understand how does it come
Last save of the day.
Sorry it is array[index], for some reasons you should be able to write index[array] as well.
Might be useful, however I had no need of that in practical stuff, just red it somewhere in some book, a long long long…. long time a go.
when i run the above program in turbo c compiler., value of b is not changing it gives the value which we have assign., ie b=10 , i am not understand