Arrays in C#

INTRODUCTION
This article is a language independent guide to arrays. It is designed to be an introductory

article for programmers starting out with any language. However, the reader should be
conversant with the subject of variables and data types, or at least understand that a
variable is a place in memory where a value can be stored, retrieved and updated.
Having read the article, the reader should be able to find the relevant details in their
language guide for actually implementing an array, and know when to use them, and what
they can be used for.
What is an Array?
Arrays are a vital part of programming, as they allow the programmer to store more than
one value in a variable, whilst retaining a single reference. If we think of a variable as a
single slot in memory (or a box) that can contain data of a certain type - number,
character, etc. - then an array is the equivalent of a box divided into partitions, each
containing a piece of data. Of course, because the array box is storing more information
than a single variable box, it is much bigger : it needs more memory.
We can use the same name to access the variable, but we need some way to differentiate
between the individual slots. To to this we use an index into the array. For example,
supposing we have an array that is 100 units wide, we might access the hundredth unit
thus:
myArray[99] = 3;
This example also illustrates another feature of most arrays - the index is usually zero
based. In other words, the index to the first item is [0] and the index to the last item is
[number of elements - 1].
In many programming languages, a string is treated as an array of characters. Usually
these arrays are terminated with a null character to indicate the end of the string. This
allows software to process strings without knowing the dimension of the array at design
time. A collection of strings is still possible, however, by using a multidimensional array.
Multi-Dimensional Arrays
A multi-dimensional array is an array of arrays. If we think of a one-dimensional array as
a row of slots in a box, then a two dimensional array is a grid of slots, and a three
dimensional array is a cube of slots. Beyond three dimensions it becomes difficult to
conceptualize, but theoretically at at least, arrays can have any dimension.
If we wish to represent a simple grid (a chessboard for example), we could define the
array as:
myArray[8][8]
The square at row 3, column 5 would be referenced thus:
myArray[3][5] = 1;
We note from this example, that the convention for accessing arrays is often [row,
column]. The reason for this is that if we want to store an array of strings, it makes sense
to access an individual character in a single string as:
myStringArray[3][1]
This references the second character in the fourth string in the array.
Array.IndexOf(), Array.LastIndexOf()
(C#)
<%@Page Language="c#" %>
<script runat="server" Language="c#">
void Page_Load()
{
int intCounter = -1;
string[] AnimalArray = new string[5]
{ "Dog", "Cat", "Elephant", "Lion", "Cat"};
do
{
intCounter = Array.IndexOf(AnimalArray, "Cat", intCounter+1);
MyText.InnerHtml += "AnimalArray[" + intCounter + "]<br/>";
} while (intCounter != Array.LastIndexOf(AnimalArray, "Cat"));
}
</script>
<html>
The string "Cat" occurs in the following elements:
<br/>
<div id="MyText" runat="server" />
</html>
Get array element by index (C#)

void Page_Load()
{
string[] AnimalArray = new string[5]{ "Dog", "Cat", "Elephant", "Lion", "Cat"};

MyLabel.Text = AnimalArray.GetValue(2).ToString();
}
</script>
<html>
<asp:label id="MyLabel" runat="server" />
</html>
Sort array reversely (C#)

void Page_Load()
{
{ "Dog", "Cat", "Elephant", "Lion", "Cat" };
Array.Reverse(AnimalArray);
foreach (string strAnimal in AnimalArray)
{
MyDropDownList.Items.Add(strAnimal);
}
}
</script>
<html>
<form id="Form1" method="post" runat="server">
<asp:dropdownlist id="MyDropDownList" runat="server" />
</form>
</html>
Use String Array to store Asp Label Text

(C#)
<%@ Page Language="C#" Debug="true" %>
<script runat="server">
void Page_Load()
{
string [] strMarx = new string[6];
strMarx[0] = "A";
strMarx[1] = "B";
strMarx[2] = "C";
strMarx[3] = "D";
strMarx[4] = "E";
strMarx[5] = "F";
lblMarx.Text = strMarx[3];
string [] strFriends = new string[5];
strFriends[1] = "Mr. J";
strFriends[4] = "Mr. G";
strFriends[3] = "Mrs. S";
lblFriend.Text = strFriends[4];
}
</script>
<html>
<head>
<title>Array Example</title>
</head>
<body>
<form runat="server">
A Marx Brother:
<asp:Label id="lblMarx" runat="server"></asp:Label><br>
A friend:
<asp:Label id="lblFriend" runat="server"></asp:Label><br>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Use Two dimensional array (C#)

void Page_Load()
{
if(Page.IsPostBack)
{
string [,] strClient = new string[4,3]; // 4 people, 3 attributes each
strClient[0,0]
strClient[0,1]
strClient[0,2]
strClient[1,0]
strClient[1,1]
strClient[1,2]
strClient[2,0]
strClient[2,1]
strClient[2,2]
strClient[3,0]
strClient[3,1]
strClient[3,2]
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
=
"First Name 1";

"Last Name 1";
"111-111-1111";
"First Name 2";
"Last Name 2";
"222-222-2222";
"First Name 3";
"Last Name 3";
"333-333-3333";
"First Name 4";
"Last Name 4";
"444-444-4444";
int intIDnumber = Convert.ToInt32(txtID.Text);
lblNameFirst.Text = strClient[intIDnumber,0];
lblNameLast.Text = strClient[intIDnumber,1];
lblTel.Text = strClient[intIDnumber,2];
}
}
</script>
<html>
<head>
<title>Array Multidimensional Example</title>
</head>
<body>
Enter a client number (from 0 to 3)
<asp:TextBox runat="server" ID="txtID"></asp:TextBox><br>
<asp:Label id="lblNameFirst" runat="server"></asp:Label><br>
<asp:Label id="lblNameLast" runat="server"></asp:Label><br>
<asp:Label id="lblTel" runat="server"></asp:Label><br>
<asp:Button runat="server" Text="Button"></asp:Button>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Use array: find item index (C#)

void Page_Load(){
if (Page.IsPostBack){
string[] choice = new string[3];
choice[0] = "1";
choice[1] = "2";
choice[2] = "3";
lblShipper.Text = "Shipper ID for " + txtShipNum.Text + " is " + Array.IndexOf(c

lblShipper.Visible = true;
}
</script>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
Please enter your shipper name.
(should be "1" or "2" or "3")

<br><asp:TextBox id="txtShipNum" runat="server" width="300px"></asp:TextBox>
<br />
Press button to find the Shipper ID number
<asp:Button id="Button1" runat="server" Text="Submit"></asp:Button>
<br />
<asp:Label id="lblShipper" runat="server"></asp:Label>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Sort array reversely (C#)

void Page_Load()
{
{ "Dog", "Cat", "Elephant", "Lion", "Cat" };
Array.Reverse(AnimalArray);
foreach (string strAnimal in AnimalArray)
{
MyDropDownList.Items.Add(strAnimal);
}
}
</script>
<html>
<form id="Form1" method="post" runat="server">
<asp:dropdownlist id="MyDropDownList" runat="server" />
</form>
</html>
Get array element by index (C#)

void Page_Load()
{
string[] AnimalArray = new string[5]{ "Dog", "Cat", "Elephant", "Lion", "Cat"};
MyLabel.Text = AnimalArray.GetValue(2).ToString();
}
</script>
<html>
<asp:label id="MyLabel" runat="server" />
</html>
Use String Array to store Asp Label Text

(C#)
void Page_Load()
{
string [] strMarx = new string[6];
strMarx[0] = "A";
strMarx[1] = "B";
strMarx[2] = "C";
strMarx[3] = "D";
strMarx[4] = "E";
strMarx[5] = "F";
lblMarx.Text = strMarx[3];
string [] strFriends = new string[5];
strFriends[1] = "Mr. J";
strFriends[4] = "Mr. G";
strFriends[3] = "Mrs. S";
lblFriend.Text = strFriends[4];
}
</script>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
A Marx Brother:
<asp:Label id="lblMarx" runat="server"></asp:Label><br>
A friend:
<asp:Label id="lblFriend" runat="server"></asp:Label><br>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Use array: find item index (C#)

void Page_Load(){
if (Page.IsPostBack){
string[] choice = new string[3];
choice[0] = "1";
choice[1] = "2";
choice[2] = "3";
lblShipper.Text = "Shipper ID for " + txtShipNum.Text + " is " + Array.IndexOf(choice, txtShipN

lblShipper.Visible = true;
}
</script>
<html>
<head>
</head>
<body>
Please enter your shipper name.
(should be "1" or "2" or "3")
<br><asp:TextBox id="txtShipNum" runat="server" width="300px"></asp:TextBox>
<br />
Press button to find the Shipper ID number
<asp:Button id="Button1" runat="server" Text="Submit"></asp:Button>
<br />
<asp:Label id="lblShipper" runat="server"></asp:Label>
</form>
</body>
</html>
Description
Programming C# is a new self-taught series of articles, in which, you may learn C#
programming in a simple step by step tutorial format.
This article concentrates on arrays in .NET and how you can work with arrays using
C# language. Article also covers the Arrays class and its methods, which can be used
to sort, search, get, and set an array items.
Introduction
In C#, an array index starts at zero. That means, first item of an array will be stored
at 0th position. The position of the last item on an array will total number of items 1.
In C#, arrays can be declared as fixed length or dynamic. Fixed length array can
stores a predefined number of items, while size of dynamic arrays increases as you
add new items to the array. You can declare an array of fixed length or dynamic. You
can even change a dynamic array to static after it is defined. For example, the
following like declares a dynamic array of integers.
int [] intArray;
The following code declares an array, which can store 5 items starting from index 0
to 4.
int [] intArray;
intArray = new int[5];
The following code declares an array that can store 100 items starting from index 0
to 99.
int [] intArray;
intArray = new int[100];
Single Dimension Arrays
Arrays can be divided into four categories. These categories are single-dimensional
arrays, multidimensional arrays or rectangular arrays, jagged arrays, and mixed
arrays.
Single-dimensional arrays are the simplest form of arrays. These types of arrays are
used to store number of items of a predefined type. All items in a single dimension
array are stored in a row starting from 0 to the size of array -1.
In C# arrays are objects. That means declaring an array doesn't create an array.
After declaring an array, you need to instantiate an array by using the "new"
operator.
The following code declares a integer array, which can store 3 items. As you can see
from the code, first I declare the array using [] bracket and after that I instantiate
the array by calling new operator.
int [] intArray;
intArray = new int[3]; yahoo Array declarations in C# are pretty simple. You put
array items in curly braces ({}). If an array is not initialized, its items are
automatically initialized to the default initial value for the array type if the array is
not initialized at the time it is declared.
The following code declares and initializes an array of three items of integer type.
int [] intArray;
intArray = new int[3] {0, 1, 2};
The following code declares and initializes an array of 5 string items.
string[] strArray = new string[5] {"Ronnie", "Jack", "Lori", "Max", "Tricky"};
You can even direct assign these values without using the new operator.
string[] strArray = {"Ronnie", "Jack", "Lori", "Max", "Tricky"};

You can initialize a dynamic length array as following
string[] strArray = new string[] {"Ronnie", "Jack", "Lori", "Max", "Tricky"};
Multi Dimension Arrays
A multidimensional array is an array with more than one dimension. A multi
dimension array is declared as following:
string[,] strArray;
After declaring an array, you can specify the size of array dimensions if you want a
fixed size array or dynamic arrays. For example, the following code two examples
create two multi dimension arrays with a matrix of 3x2 and 2x2. The first array can
store 6 items and second array can store 4 items respectively.
int[,] numbers = new int[3, 2] { {1, 2}, {3, 4}, {5, 6} };
string[,] names = new string[2, 2] { {"Rosy","Amy"}, {"Peter","Albert"} };
If you don't want to specify the size of arrays, just don't define a number when you
call new operator.
For example,
int[,] numbers = new int[,] { {1, 2}, {3, 4}, {5, 6} };
string[,] names = new string[,] { {"Rosy","Amy"}, {"Peter","Albert"} };
You can also omit the new operator as we did in single dimension arrays. You can
assign these values directly
without using the new operator. For example:
int[,] numbers = { {1, 2}, {3, 4}, {5, 6} };

string[,] siblings = { {"Rosy", "Amy"}, {"Peter", "Albert"} };
Jagged Arrays
Jagged arrays are often called array of arrays. An element of a jagged array itself is
an array. For example, you can define an array of names of students of a class where
a name itself can be an array of three strings - first name, middle name and last
name. Another example of jagged arrays is an array of integers containing another
array of integers. For example,
int[][] numArray = new int[][] { new int[] {1,3,5}, new int[] {2,4,6,8,10} };
Again, you can specify the size when you call the new operator.
Mixed Arrays
Mixed arrays are a combination of multi-dimension arrays and jagged arrays. Multidimension arrays are also called as rectangular arrays.
Accessing Arrays using foreach Loop
The foreach control statement (loop) of C# is a new to C++ or other developers.
This control statement is used to iterate through the elements of a collection such as
an array. For example, the following code uses foreach loop to read all items of
numArray.
int[] numArray = {1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13};
foreach (int num in numArray)
{
System.Console.WriteLine(num.ToString());
}
A Simple Example
This sample code listed in Listing 1 shows you how to use arrays. You can access an
array items by using for loop but using foreach loop is easy to use and better.
Listing 1. Using arrays in C#.
using System;
namespace ArraysSamp
{
class Class1
{
static void Main(string[] args)
{
int[] intArray = new int[3];
intArray[0] = 3;
intArray[1] = 6;
intArray[2] = 9;
Console.WriteLine("================");
foreach (int i in intArray)
{
Console.WriteLine(i.ToString() );
}
string[] strArray = new string[5]
{"Ronnie", "Jack", "Lori", "Max", "Tricky"};
foreach( string str in strArray)
{
Console.WriteLine(str);
}
string[,] names = new string[,]
{
{"Rosy","Amy"},
{"Peter","Albert"}
};
foreach( string str in names)
{
}
Console.ReadLine();
}
}
}
#region Web Form Designer generated code
override protected void OnInit(EventArgs e)
{
//
// CODEGEN: This call is required by the ASP.NET Web Form Designer.
//
InitializeComponent();
base.OnInit(e);
}
/// <summary>
/// Required method for Designer support - do not modify
/// the contents of this method with the code editor.
/// </summary>
private void InitializeComponent()
{
this.Load += new System.EventHandler(this.Page_Load);
}
#endregion
}
}
Understanding the Array Class
The Array class, defined in the System namespace, is the base class for arrays in
C#. Array class is an abstract base class but it provides CreateInstance method to
construct an array. The Array class provides methods for creating, manipulating,
searching, and sorting arrays.
Table 1 describes Array class properties.
IsFixedSize
Return a value indicating if an array has a fixed size or not.
IsReadOnly
Returns a value indicating if an array is read-only or not.
IsSynchronized Returns a value indicating if access to an array is thread-safe or not.

Length
Returns the total number of items in all the dimensions of an array.
Rank
Returns the number of dimensions of an array.
SyncRoot
Returns an object that can be used to synchronize access to the

array.
Table 1: The System.Array Class Properties

Table 2 describes some of the Array class methods.
BinarySearch
This method searches a one-dimensional sorted Array for a value,

using a binary search algorithm.
Clear
This method removes all items of an array and sets a range of items
in the array to 0.
Clone
This method creates a shallow copy of the Array.
Copy
This method copies a section of one Array to another Array and

performs type casting and boxing as required.
CopyTo
This method copies all the elements of the current one-dimensional

Array to the specified one-dimensional Array starting at the
specified destination Array index.
CreateInstance This method initializes a new instance of the Array class.

GetEnumerator This method returns an IEnumerator for the Array.
GetLength
This method returns the number of items in an Array.
GetLowerBound This method returns the lower bound of an Array.

GetUpperBound This method returns the upper bound of an Array.
GetValue
This method returns the value of the specified item in an Array.
IndexOf
This method returns the index of the first occurrence of a value in a

one-dimensional Array or in a portion of the Array.
Initialize
This method initializes every item of the value-type Array by calling

the default constructor of the value type.
LastIndexOf
This method returns the index of the last occurrence of a value in a

one-dimensional Array or in a portion of the Array.
Reverse
This method reverses the order of the items in a one-dimensional

Array or in a portion of the Array.
SetValue
This method sets the specified items in the current Array to the
specified value.
Sort
This method sorts the items in one-dimensional Array objects.
Table 2: The System.Array Class Methods

The Array Class
Array class is an abstract base class but it provides CreateInstance method to
construct an array.
Array names = Array.CreateInstance( typeof(String), 2, 4 );

After creating an array using the CreateInstance method, you can use SetValue
method to add items to an array. I will discuss SetValue method later in this article.
The Array class provides methods for creating, manipulating, searching, and sorting
arrays. Array class provides three boolean properties IsFixedSize, IsReadOnly, and
IsSynchronized to see if an array has fixed size, read only or synchronized or not
respectively. The Length property of Array class returns the number of items in an
array and the Rank property returns number of dimensions in a multi-dimension
array.
Listing 1 creates two arrays with a fixed and variable lengths and sends the output to
the system console.
int [] intArray;
// fixed array with 3 items
intArray = new int[3] {0, 1, 2};
// 2x2 varialbe length array
string[,] names = new string[,] { {"Rosy","Amy"}, {"Peter","Albert"} };
if(intArray.IsFixedSize)
{
Console.WriteLine("Array is fixed size");
Console.WriteLine("Size :" + intArray.Length.ToString());
}
if(names.IsFixedSize)
{
Console.WriteLine("Array is varialbe.");
Console.WriteLine("Size :" + names.Length.ToString());
Console.WriteLine("Rank :" + names.Rank.ToString());
}
Listing 1.
Besides these properties, the Array class provides methods to add, insert, delete,
copy, binary search, reverse, reverse and so on.
Searching an Item in an Array
The BinarySearch static method of Array class can be used to search for an item in a
array. This method uses binary search algorithm to search for an item. The method
takes at least two parameters - an array and an object (the item you are looking
for). If an item found in an array, the method returns the index of the item (based on
first item as 0th item), else method returns a negative value. Listing 2 uses
BinarySearch method to search two arrays.
int [] intArray = new int[3] {0, 1, 2};
string[] names = new string[] {"Rosy","Amy", "Peter","Albert"};
object obj1 = "Peter";
object obj2 = 1;
int retVal = Array.BinarySearch(names, obj1);
if(retVal >=0)
Console.WriteLine("Item index " +retVal.ToString() );

else
Console.WriteLine("Item not found");
retVal = Array.BinarySearch(intArray, obj2);
if(retVal >=0)
Console.WriteLine("Item index " +retVal.ToString() );
else
Console.WriteLine("Item not found");
Listing 2. Searching an item in a array
Sorting Items in an Array
The Sort static method of the Array class can be used to sort an array items. This
method has many overloaded forms. The simplest form takes a parameter of the
array, you want to sort to. Listing 3 uses Sort method to sort an array items.
Console.WriteLine("Original Array:");
foreach (string str in names)
{
}
Console.WriteLine("Sorted Array:");
Array.Sort(names);
foreach (string str in names)
{
}
Listing 3. Sorting an array items.
Getting and Setting Values
The GetValue and SetValue methods of the Array class can be used to return a value
from an index of an array and set values of an array item at a specified index
respectively. The code listed in Listing 4 creates a 2-dimension array instance using
the CreateInstance method. After that I use SetValue method to add values to the
array.
In the end I find number of items in both dimensions and use GetValue method to
read values and display on the console.
Array names = Array.CreateInstance( typeof(String), 2, 4 );
names.SetValue( "Rosy", 0, 0 );
names.SetValue( "Amy", 0, 1 );
names.SetValue( "Peter", 0, 2 );
names.SetValue( "Albert", 0, 3 );
names.SetValue( "Mel", 1, 0 );
names.SetValue( "Mongee", 1, 1 );
names.SetValue( "Luma", 1, 2 );
names.SetValue( "Lara", 1, 3 );
int items1 = names.GetLength(0);

int items2 = names.GetLength(1);
for ( int i =0; i < items1; i++ )
for ( int j = 0; j < items2; j++ )
Console.WriteLine(i.ToString() +","+ j.ToString() +": " +names.GetValue( i, j ) );
Listing 4. Using GetValue and SetValue methods
Other Methods of Array Class
The Reverse static method of the Array class reverses the order of items in a array.
Similar to the sort method, you can just pass an array as a parameter of the Reverse
method.
Array.Reverse(names);
The Clear static method of the Array class removes all items of an array and sets its
length to zero. This method takes three parameters - first an array object, second
starting index of the array and third is number of elements. The following code
removes two elements from the array starting at index 1 (means second element of
the array).
Array.Clear(names, 1, 2);
The GetLength method returns the number of items in an array. The GetLowerBound
and GetUppperBound methods return the lower and upper bounds of an array
respectively. All these three methods take at least a parameter, which is the index of
the dimension of an array. The following code snippet uses all three methods.
Console.WriteLine(names.GetLength(0).ToString());
Console.WriteLine(names.GetLowerBound(0).ToString());
Console.WriteLine(names.GetUpperBound(0).ToString());
The Copy static method of the Array class copies a section of an array to another
array. The CopyTo method copies all the elements of an array to another onedimension array. The code listed in Listing 5 copies contents of an integer array to an
array of object types.
// Creates and initializes a new Array of type Int32.
Array oddArray = Array.CreateInstance( Type.GetType("System.Int32"), 5 );
oddArray.SetValue(1, 0);
// Creates and initializes a new Array of type Object.
Array objArray = Array.CreateInstance( Type.GetType("System.Object"), 5 );
Array.Copy(oddArray, oddArray.GetLowerBound(0), objArray,
objArray.GetLowerBound(0), 4 );
int items1 = objArray.GetUpperBound(0);
for ( int i =0; i < items1; i++ )

Console.WriteLine(objArray.GetValue(i).ToString());
Listing 5. Copying an array.
You can even copy a part of an array to another array by passing number of items
and starting item in the Copy method. The following format copies a range of items
from an Array starting at the specified source index and pastes them to another
Array starting at the specified destination index.
public static void Copy(Array, int, Array, int, int);

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INTRODUCTION

This article is a language independent guide to arrays. It is designed to be an introductory

Get array element by index (C#)

string[] AnimalArray = new string[5]{ "Dog", "Cat", "Elephant", "Lion", "Cat"};

Sort array reversely (C#)

Use String Array to store Asp Label Text

Use Two dimensional array (C#)

"First Name 1";

int intIDnumber = Convert.ToInt32(txtID.Text);

Use array: find item index (C#)

lblShipper.Text = "Shipper ID for " + txtShipNum.Text + " is " + Array.IndexOf(c

(should be "1" or "2" or "3")

Sort array reversely (C#)

Get array element by index (C#)

Use String Array to store Asp Label Text

Use array: find item index (C#)

lblShipper.Text = "Shipper ID for " + txtShipNum.Text + " is " + Array.IndexOf(choice, txtShipN

string[] strArray = {"Ronnie", "Jack", "Lori", "Max", "Tricky"};

int[,] numbers = { {1, 2}, {3, 4}, {5, 6} };

Return a value indicating if an array has a fixed size or not.

Returns a value indicating if an array is read-only or not.

IsSynchronized Returns a value indicating if access to an array is thread-safe or not.

Returns the total number of items in all the dimensions of an array.

Returns the number of dimensions of an array.

Returns an object that can be used to synchronize access to the

Table 1: The System.Array Class Properties

This method searches a one-dimensional sorted Array for a value,

This method creates a shallow copy of the Array.

This method copies a section of one Array to another Array and

This method copies all the elements of the current one-dimensional

CreateInstance This method initializes a new instance of the Array class.

This method returns the number of items in an Array.

GetLowerBound This method returns the lower bound of an Array.

This method returns the value of the specified item in an Array.

This method returns the index of the first occurrence of a value in a

This method initializes every item of the value-type Array by calling

This method returns the index of the last occurrence of a value in a

This method reverses the order of the items in a one-dimensional

This method sorts the items in one-dimensional Array objects.

Table 2: The System.Array Class Methods

Array names = Array.CreateInstance( typeof(String), 2, 4 );

Console.WriteLine("Item index " +retVal.ToString() );

int items1 = names.GetLength(0);

for ( int i =0; i < items1; i++ )

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