4.7 Tutorial 7 Non-Object arrays

This tutorial teaches you how to create single-dimensional and multi-dimensional arrays of non-Objects. The non-Object types in Java are those which aren’t declared inside a class, so it includes the following types: boolean, char, int, float and double. A helpful convention in Java is that the non-object types start with a lowercase letter, while object types start with an uppercase letter, such as for example the String class as an example of an Object type. In addition to this, two different array initialization syntaxes are presented.

4.7.1 Single-dimensional non-Object arrays

Question 4.7.1: Here is an example of a convenient one dimensional array initialization syntax. Study, compile and run the following code. The code int[] should be read out loud as int array indicating the variable a is an int array, also known as an array of ints. Note that the first value of the for loop below is zero. This is because in J.T.W. and Java, the first index of an array is zero not one. This convention harks back to the old days of the C Programming Language and is used because it is more efficient in the low level of machine language than counting arrays from one.

beginMain
    var int[] a = { 1,2,3 };
    superfor (var int i=0 to a.length-1)
    begin
        System.out.println("a[" + i + "]=" + a[i]);
    end
endMain

Due to a design oversight by the creators of Java you cannot use this syntax to re-initialize an array like so:

a = { 4,5,6 }; // Compilation error

Luckily there is a way array around this oversight and that is to use a design pattern where you introduce a temporary variable like so:

var int[] temp = { 4,5,6 };
a = temp; // Array "a" now holds 4 5 6

Later you will learn why this design pattern is useful for re-initializing multi-dimensional arrays.

Question 4.7.2: Write a function print that takes an int array argument and prints out the array. You will need to use the length property of the array parameter so your function works with arbitrary sized arrays. Change the main function to what follows so that it contains a call to the print function.

var int[] a = { 1,2,3 };
print(a);

Question 4.7.3: Write a function with same name as the previous print function, except that this one should take an argument that is a double[], also known as a double array. Two functions with the same name in the same class is allowed in Java and the practice of using has a special name that is: function name overloading. Overloading is only allowed when the two functions with the same name have different parameters. When you call an overloaded function J.T.W. and Java looks at the number and types of the arguments a determines from this which of the overloaded functions to call. Change the main function to what follows so that it initializes an array of double-precision floating point variables and then calls the second print function.

var double[] b = { 1.1,2.2,3.3 };
print(b);

Here is an example of a second initialization syntax. For this particular example it is better to use the simpler, earlier initialization syntax, but when the size of the array to be created is to be determined at run-time, then the second syntax should used. The next question will show you an example of this.

beginMain
    var int[] a = new int[3]; )
    // at this point the array is all zeroes
    for (var int i=0; i<3; i=i+1)
    begin
        a[i] = i;
    end
    print(a);
endMain

Question 4.7.4: Write a function create takes one int argument, the size of the array to create and returns an int array of that size. Make it so the ith element of the array is initialized to i. Call this function from the main function like so:

beginMain
    var int[] a = create(3);
    print(a);
endMain

Question 4.7.5: Write a function create2 takes one int argument, the size of the array to create and returns a double array of that size. Make it so the ith element of the array is initialized to i.i. Why is it not possible to overload that create function? Try it and see what the compiler says. Call create2 from the main function like so:

beginMain
    var double[] a = create2(3);
    print(a);
endMain

Question 4.7.6: Write a function doubler that takes an int array x and returns a new int array result that is twice as big as x. Copy x into result before you return it. The extra elements in the result should all be zero.

Question 4.7.7: Change the doubler function so that every zero in the array result is set to the value 13.

4.7.2 Two dimensional non-Object arrays

Question 4.7.8: Here is an example of a convenient two dimensional array initialization syntax. Study, compile and run the following code. The code int[][] should be read out loud as int array array indicating that the variable a is an int array array, also known as a two-dimensional array of ints.

beginMain
    var int[][] a = { { 1,2,3 } { 4,5 } { 6 } }

    for (var int y=0; y<a.length; y=y+1)
    begin
        for (var int x=0; x<a[y].length; x=x+1)
        begin
            System.out.print(" " + a[y][x]);
        end
        System.out.println();
    end
endMain

Question 4.7.9: By copying the pattern of the code above, do some more overloading of the print function by writing two new print functions, one taking a two dimensional array of ints, the other taken a two dimensional array of doubles. The call both of these functions from the main function.

Note that if x is a two dimensional array of ints, then x[i] is a one dimensional array of ints for each in the range 0 ... x.length-1. Note that in the above code, a[0] is an array of three ints, a[1] is an array of two ints and a[2] is an array of one int. The reason these sub-arrays are all of different sizes is to save your computer’s precious memory. For example you can have one sub-array much longer than all of the others without needing to allocate a whole bunch of memory that will go unused. Since a[0] is an int array, you would naively expect it to be able to be re-initialized like so:

a[0] = { 4,5,6,7};)

so that after this code a[0] holds the four element long array 4,5,6 and 7. But as mentioned above in Single-dimensional non-Object arrays, this doesn’t work because of a design oversight by the creators of Java. Luckily as mentioned above there is a way around this oversight and that is to use a temporary variable like so:

var int[] temp = { 4,5,6,7};
a[0] = temp;) // Array "a[0]" now holds 4 5 6 7

Like with one dimensional arrays, there is a second initialization syntax for two dimensional arrays and here it is. Unlike the above code the sub-arrays a[0], a[1] and a[2] are all of equal size, namely three.

var int[][] a = new int[3][3];
a[0][0] = 1; a[1][0] = 2; a[2][0] = 3;
a[0][1] = 4; a[1][1] = 5;
a[0][2] = 6;

Question 4.7.10: Write a function create3 and create4 that takes on int argument size and returns a two dimensional array of ints or doubles, respectively. Make is so that if a is the name of the returned array, then a[y][x] is set to the value of x+y.

4.7.3 Three-dimensional non-Object arrays

Question 4.7.11: Using the knowledge you have gained so far about arrays, create, initialize and print a three-dimensional array of ints.