Array

An array is defined as the collection of similar type of data items stored at

contiguous memory locations. Arrays are the derived data type in C
programming language which can store the primitive type of data such as
int, char, double, float, etc. It also has the capability to store the
collection of derived data types, such as pointers, structure, etc. The
array is the simplest data structure where each data element can be
randomly accessed by using its index number.

C array is beneficial if you have to store similar elements. For example, if

we want to store the marks of a student in 6 subjects, then we don't need
to define different variables for the marks in the different subject. Instead
of that, we can define an array which can store the marks in each subject
at the contiguous memory locations.

By using the array, we can access the elements easily. Only a few lines of
code are required to access the elements of the array.

Properties of Array

The array contains the following properties.

o Each element of an array is of same data type and carries the same
size, i.e., int = 4 bytes.
o Elements of the array are stored at contiguous memory locations
where the first element is stored at the smallest memory location.
o Elements of the array can be randomly accessed since we can
calculate the address of each element of the array with the given
base address and the size of the data element.

Advantage of C Array

1) Code Optimization: Less code to the access the data.

2) Ease of traversing: By using the for loop, we can retrieve the elements
of an array easily.

3) Ease of sorting: To sort the elements of the array, we need a few lines
of code only.

4) Random Access: We can access any element randomly using the array.

Disadvantage of C Array

1) Fixed Size: Whatever size, we define at the time of declaration of the

array, we can't exceed the limit i.e, it doesn't grow the size dynamically.
 Declaration of C Array

We can declare an array in the c language in the following way.

1. data_type array_name[array_size];

Now, let us see the example to declare the array.

1. int marks[5];

Here, int is the data_type, marks are the array_name, and 5 is

the array_size.

Initialization of C Array

The simplest way to initialize an array is by using the index of each

element. We can initialize each element of the array by using the index.
Consider the following example.

1. marks[0]=80;//initialization of array
2. marks[1]=60;
3. marks[2]=70;
4. marks[3]=85;
5. marks[4]=75;

C array example
1. #include<stdio.h>
2. int main(){
3. int i=0;
4. int marks[5];//declaration of array
5. marks[0]=80;//initialization of array
6. marks[1]=60;
7. marks[2]=70;
8. marks[3]=85;
9. marks[4]=75;
10. //traversal of array
11. for(i=0;i<5;i++){
12. printf("%d \n",marks[i]);
13. }//end of for loop
14. return 0;
15. }

Output

80
60
70
85
75

C Array: Declaration with Initialization

We can initialize the c array at the time of declaration. Let's see the code.

1. int marks[5]={20,30,40,50,60};

In such case, there is no requirement to define the size. So it may also be

written as the following code.

1. int marks[]={20,30,40,50,60};

Let's see the C program to declare and initialize the array in C.

1. #include<stdio.h>
2. int main(){
3. int i=0;
4. int marks[5]={20,30,40,50,60};//declaration and initialization of array
5. //traversal of array
6. for(i=0;i<5;i++){
7. printf("%d \n",marks[i]);
8. }
9. return 0;
10. }

Output

20
30
40
50
60
 C Array Example: Sorting an array

In the following program, we are using bubble sort method to sort the
array in ascending order.

1. #include<stdio.h>
2. void main ()
3. {
4. int i, j,temp;
5. int a[10] = { 10, 9, 7, 101, 23, 44, 12, 78, 34, 23};
6. for(i = 0; i<10; i++)
7. {
8. for(j = i+1; j<10; j++)
9. {
10. if(a[j] > a[i])
11. {
12. temp = a[i];
13. a[i] = a[j];
14. a[j] = temp;
15. }
16. }
17. }
18. printf("Printing Sorted Element List ...\n");
19. for(i = 0; i<10; i++)
20. {
21. printf("%d\n",a[i]);
22. }
23. }

Program to print the largest and second largest element of the array.
1. #include<stdio.h>
2. void main ()
3. {
4. int arr[100],i,n,largest,sec_largest;
5. printf("Enter the size of the array?");
6. scanf("%d",&n);
7. printf("Enter the elements of the array?");
8. for(i = 0; i<n; i++)
9. {
10. scanf("%d",&arr[i]);
11. }
12. largest = arr[0];
13. sec_largest = arr[1];
14. for(i=0;i<n;i++)
15. {
16. if(arr[i]>largest)
17. {
18. sec_largest = largest;
19. largest = arr[i];
20. }
21. else if (arr[i]>sec_largest && arr[i]!=largest)
22. {
23. sec_largest=arr[i];
24. }
25. }
26. printf("largest = %d, second largest = %d",largest,sec_largest);

27.
28. }

Types of Arrays
The various types of arrays are as follows.
 One dimensional array
 Multi-dimensional array

One-Dimensional Array
A one-dimensional array is also called a single dimensional array where
the elements will be accessed in sequential order. This type of array will
be accessed by the subscript of either a column or row index.
Syntax: data-type arr_name[array_size];
Multi-Dimensional Array
When the number of dimensions specified is more than one, then it is
called as a multi-dimensional array. Multidimensional arrays include 2D
arrays and 3D arrays.
Two-Dimensional Array
The Two Dimensional array is used for representing the elements of the
array in the form of the rows and columns and these are used for
representing the Matrix. A Two Dimensional Array uses the two subscripts
for declaring the elements of the Array.
Syntax: data_type array_name[num_of_rows][num_of_column];

Program to print array elements.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <stdlib.h>

int main()
{
const int ROW = 2;
const int COLUMN = 3;
int i,j;

int m[ROW][COLUMN];

printf("Please fill the array's content:\n");

/* fill array's elements */

for(i = 0; i < ROW; i++)
{
for(j = 0; j < COLUMN; j++)
{
printf("\nm[%d][%d]:",i,j);
scanf("%d",&m[i][j]);
}
}

/* display array's elements */

printf("Array's content:\n");

for(i = 0; i < ROW; i++)

{
for(j = 0; j < COLUMN; j++)
{
printf("%d\t",m[i][j]);
}
printf("\n");
}

return 0;
}