What are Arrays?

Numerous applications require the processing of multiple data items that have identical characteristics. In such circumstances it is frequently convenient to place data items into an array where they will all share the same name (example; arr). The individual data items can be floating-point numbers, characters, integers, and so on. But, they must all be of the same storage class and the same type.

Every array element (that is each individual data item) is referred to by specifying the array name followed by one or more subscripts with each subscript together with this in square brackets. Every subscript must be expressed as a nonnegative integer. In an n-element array and the array elements are arr[0], arr[1], arr[2],....................arr[n-1] as illustrated in figure. The value of every subscript can be expressed as an integer variable, an integer constant or a more complex integer expression.

The number of subscripts concludes the dimensionality of the array. For instance x[i] refers to an element in the one-dimensional array x. likewise y[i][j] refers to an element in the two -dimensional array y. Higher-dimensional arrays can be as well be formed, by adding additional subscripts in the same manner (that is z[i][j][k])