Arrays

Fixed-size collection of elements of the same type, stored in contiguous memory locations.

Properties

• Fixed size: Size is set when created and cannot change.
• Contiguous memory: Elements are stored next to each other.
• Random access: Any element can be accessed directly by index.
• Same type: All elements must be of the same data type.
• Allows duplicates: Repeated values are permitted.

Operations

• Access: Direct access using index.
• Insertion: Need to shift elements.
• Update: Directly modify an element by index.
• Deletion: Need to shift elements after deletion.

Advantages

• Fast access: Elements can be quickly accessed using their index.
• Memory efficient: Elements are stored together in memory, reducing overhead.

Disadvantages

• Fixed size: Cannot be resized after creation.
• Manual insertion and deletion: Adding or removing elements requires shifting other elements.
• Memory waste: Unused space is wasted if the array is not fully filled.

Example

// Declaration and initialization
int[] numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

// Declare and set the size of the array
String[] students = new String[3];

// Insert elements
students[0] = "Dustin";
students[1] = "Rewish";
students[2] = "Ada Lovelace";

// Accessing an element
System.out.println(students[0]); // Prints "Dustin"

// Updating an element
students[0] = "Dustin VII"; // Updates "Dustin" to "Dustin VII"
System.out.println(students[0]);

// Deleting an element
students[2] = null; // Removes "Ada Lovelace"
System.out.println(students[2]); // Prints "null"