C++ Arrays

Arrays are used to store multiple values in a single variable, instead of

declaring separate variables for each value.

To declare an array, define the variable type, specify the name of the array
followed by square brackets and specify the number of elements it should
store:

string cars[4];

We have now declared a variable that holds an array of four strings. To insert
values to it, we can use an array literal - place the values in a comma-
separated list, inside curly braces:

string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};

To create an array of three integers, you could write:

int myNum[3] = {10, 20, 30};

Access the Elements of an Array
You access an array element by referring to the index number inside square
brackets [].

This statement accesses the value of the first element in cars:

Example
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
cout << cars[0];
// Outputs Volvo

Note: Array indexes start with 0: [0] is the first element. [1] is the second
element, etc.
#include <iostream>

#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main()

string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};

cout << cars[0];

return 0;

}
Change an Array Element
To change the value of a specific element, refer to the index number:

cars[0] = "Opel";

Example
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
cars[0] = "Opel";
cout << cars[0];
// Now outputs Opel instead of Volvo

#include <iostream>

#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() {

string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};

cout << “Before changing: ”<<cars[0];

cars[0] = "Opel";

cout <<”After Changing”<< cars[0];

return 0;

}
Loop Through an Array
You can loop through the array elements with the for loop.

The following example outputs all elements in the cars array:

Example
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
cout << cars[i] << "\n";
}

#include <iostream>
#include <string>
using namespace std;

int main() {
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
cout << cars[i] << "\n";
}
return 0;
}
The following example outputs the index of each element together with its
value:

Example
string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};
for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {
cout << i << ": " << cars[i] << "\n";
}

#include <iostream>

#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() {

string cars[4] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda"};

for (int i = 0; i < 4; i++) {

cout << i << ": " << cars[i] << "\n";

return 0;

}
Omit Array Size
You don't have to specify the size of the array. But if you don't, it will only be
as big as the elements that are inserted into it:

string cars[] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford"}; // size of array is always 3

This is completely fine. However, the problem arise if you want extra space
for future elements. Then you have to overwrite the existing values:

string cars[] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford"};

string cars[] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford", "Mazda", "Tesla"};

If you specify the size however, the array will reserve the extra space:

string cars[5] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford"}; // size of array is 5, even

though it's only three elements inside it

Now you can add a fourth and fifth element without overwriting the others:

Example
cars[3] = "Mazda";
cars[4] = "Tesla";
#include <iostream>

#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() { string cars[5] = {"Volvo", "BMW", "Ford"};

cars[3] = "Mazda";

cars[4] = "Tesla";

for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

cout << cars[i] << "\n"; }

return 0;

}
Omit Elements on Declaration
It is also possible to declare an array without specifying the elements on
declaration, and add them later:

Example
string cars[5];
cars[0] = "Volvo";
cars[1] = "BMW";
...
#include <iostream>

#include <string>

using namespace std;

int main() {

string cars[5];

cars[0] = "Volvo";

cars[1] = "BMW";

cars[2] = "Ford";

cars[3] = "Mazda";

cars[4] = "Tesla";

for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {

cout << cars[i] << "\n";

return 0;

}
Get the Size of an Array
To get the size of an array, you can use the sizeof() operator:

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
cout << sizeof(myNumbers);

Result:

20

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};

cout << sizeof(myNumbers);

return 0;

Why did the result show 20 instead of 5, when the array contains 5
elements?

It is because the sizeof() operator returns the size of a type in bytes.

You learned from the Data Types chapter that an int type is usually 4 bytes,
so from the example above, 4 x 5 (4 bytes x 5 elements) = 20 bytes.
To find out how many elements an array has, you have to divide the
size of the array by the size of the data type it contains:

Example
int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
int getArrayLength = sizeof(myNumbers) / sizeof(int);
cout << getArrayLength;

Result:

5
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

int myNumbers[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};

int getArrayLength = sizeof(myNumbers) / sizeof(int);

cout << getArrayLength;

return 0;

}
Multi-Dimensional Arrays
A multi-dimensional array is an array of arrays.

To declare a multi-dimensional array, define the variable type, specify the

name of the array followed by square brackets which specify how many
elements the main array has, followed by another set of square brackets
which indicates how many elements the sub-arrays have:

string letters[2][4];

As with ordinary arrays, you can insert values with an array literal - a
comma-separated list inside curly braces. In a multi-dimensional array, each
element in an array literal is another array literal.

string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};

Each set of square brackets in an array declaration adds

another dimension to an array. An array like the one above is said to have
two dimensions.

Arrays can have any number of dimensions. The more dimensions an array
has, the more complex the code becomes. The following array has three
dimensions:

string letters[2][2][2] = {
{
{ "A", "B" },
{ "C", "D" }
},
{
{ "E", "F" },
{ "G", "H" }
}
};
Access the Elements of a Multi-
Dimensional Array
To access an element of a multi-dimensional array, specify an index number
in each of the array's dimensions.

This statement accesses the value of the element in the first row
(0) and third column (2) of the letters array.

Example
string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};

cout << letters[0][2]; // Outputs "C"

#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main() {
string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};

cout << letters[0][2];

return 0;
}
Remember that: Array indexes start with 0: [0] is the first element. [1] is
the second element, etc.
Change Elements in a Multi-Dimensional
Array
To change the value of an element, refer to the index number of the element
in each of the dimensions:

Example
string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};
letters[0][0] = "Z";

cout << letters[0][0]; // Now outputs "Z" instead of "A"

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

string letters[2][4] = {

{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },

{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }

};

letters[0][0] = "Z";

cout << letters[0][0];

return 0;

}
Loop Through a Multi-Dimensional Array
To loop through a multi-dimensional array, you need one loop for each of the
array's dimensions.

The following example outputs all elements in the letters array:

Example
string letters[2][4] = {
{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },
{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }
};

for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {

for(int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {
cout << letters[i][j] << "\n";
}
}

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

string letters[2][4] = {

{ "A", "B", "C", "D" },

{ "E", "F", "G", "H" }

};

for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {

for(int j = 0; j < 4; j++) {

cout << letters[i][j] << "\n";

return 0;

}
This example shows how to loop through a three-dimensional array:

Example
string letters[2][2][2] = {
{
{ "A", "B" },
{ "C", "D" }
},
{
{ "E", "F" },
{ "G", "H" }
}
};

for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {

for(int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {
for(int k = 0; k < 2; k++) {
cout << letters[i][j][k] << "\n";
}
}
}

#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

string letters[2][2][2] = {

{ "A", "B" },

{ "C", "D" }

},

{ "E", "F" },

{ "G", "H" }

};
 for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {

for(int j = 0; j < 2; j++) {

for(int k = 0; k < 2; k++) {

cout << letters[i][j][k] << "\n";

return 0;

}
Why Multi-Dimensional Arrays?
Multi-dimensional arrays are great at representing grids. This example shows
a practical use for them. In the following example we use a multi-
dimensional array to represent a small game of Battleship:

Example
// We put "1" to indicate there is a ship.
bool ships[4][4] = {
{ 0, 1, 1, 0 },
{ 0, 0, 0, 0 },
{ 0, 0, 1, 0 },
{ 0, 0, 1, 0 }
};

// Keep track of how many hits the player has and how many turns they
have played in these variables
int hits = 0;
int numberOfTurns = 0;

// Allow the player to keep going until they have hit all four ships
while (hits < 4) {
int row, column;

cout << "Selecting coordinates\n";

// Ask the player for a row

cout << "Choose a row number between 0 and 3: ";
cin >> row;

// Ask the player for a column

cout << "Choose a column number between 0 and 3: ";
cin >> column;

// Check if a ship exists in those coordinates

if (ships[row][column]) {
// If the player hit a ship, remove it by setting the value to
zero.
ships[row][column] = 0;

// Increase the hit counter

hits++;

// Tell the player that they have hit a ship and how many ships are
left
cout << "Hit! " << (4-hits) << " left.\n\n";
} else {
// Tell the player that they missed
 cout << "Miss\n\n";
}

// Count how many turns the player has taken

numberOfTurns++;
}

cout << "Victory!\n";

cout << "You won in " << numberOfTurns << " turns";
#include <iostream>

using namespace std;

int main() {

// We put "1" to indicate there is a ship.

bool ships[4][4] = {

{ 0, 1, 1, 0 },

{ 0, 0, 0, 0 },

{ 0, 0, 1, 0 },

{ 0, 0, 1, 0 }

};

// Keep track of how many hits the player has and how many turns they have played in these
variables

int hits = 0;

int numberOfTurns = 0;

// Allow the player to keep going until they have hit all four ships

while (hits < 4) {

int row, column;

cout << "Selecting coordinates\n";

// Ask the player for a row

cout << "Choose a row number between 0 and 3: ";

cin >> row;

 // Ask the player for a column

cout << "Choose a column number between 0 and 3: ";

cin >> column;

// Check if a ship exists in those coordinates

if (ships[row][column]) {

// If the player hit a ship, remove it by setting the value to zero.

ships[row][column] = 0;

// Increase the hit counter

hits++;

// Tell the player that they have hit a ship and how many ships are left

cout << "Hit! " << (4-hits) << " left.\n\n";

} else {

// Tell the player that they missed

cout << "Miss\n\n";

// Count how many turns the player has taken

numberOfTurns++;

cout << "Victory!\n";

cout << "You won in " << numberOfTurns << " turns";

return 0;