BITS Pilani
Pilani Campus
Object Oriented Programming
Arrays
Last Class
• Arrays
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Arrays and References
• Like class types, a variable of an array type
holds a reference
– Arrays are objects stack
- >
-
– A variable of an array type holds the address of
-
-
where the array object is stored in memory heap
-
-
– Array types are (usually) considered to be class
types
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Arrays are Objects
• An array can be viewed as a collection of indexed variables
• An array can also be viewed as a single item whose value is a
collection of values of a base type
– An array variable names the array as a single item
double[] a;
– A new expression creates an array object and stores the
object in memory
new double[10]
– An assignment statement places a reference to the
memory address of an array object in the array variable
a = new double[10];
– The previous steps can be combined into one statement
↑
=> C double[] a = new double[10];
(continued)
i
primiting ne
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Arrays with a Class Base Type
• The base type of an array can be a class type
=>
Date[] holidayList = new Date[20];
objec
non-primeste object datatype
or no . Date
• The above example creates 20 indexed reference
variables of type Date. It does not create 20
objects of the class Date
– Each of these indexed variables are automatically
initialized to null
– Any attempt to reference any them at this point would
result in a "null pointer exception" error message
a (continued)
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Arrays with a Class Base Type
• Like any other object, each of the indexed variables requires a
separate invocation of a constructor using new (singly, or
perhaps using a for loop) to create an object to reference
holidayList[0] = new Date();
. . .
holidayList[19] = new Date();
OR
#
&
for (int i = 0; i < holidayList.length; i++)
-
- -
holidayList[i] = new Date();
heap
• Each of the indexed variables can now be referenced since
each holds the memory address of a Date object
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Array Parameters
• Both array indexed variables and entire arrays
can be used as arguments to methods
-
– An indexed variable can be an argument to a
method in exactly the same way that any variable
of the array base type can be an argument
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Array Parameters
- double n = 0.0;
- double[] a = {2.3, 4.5, 6.7, 8.9};
int i = 2;
- =
Given the method declaration
public void myMethod (double x)
>
-
-
-
then all of the following are legal:
- myMethod(n); double //n evaluates to
=
>
- 0.0
-
myMethod(a[3]);- double//a[3] evaluates to 8.9
myMethod(a[i]); //i evaluates to 2,
T
//a[2] evaluates to 6.7
ith
entry
End enby in the array
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Array Parameters
• An argument to a method may be an entire array
• Array arguments behave like objects of a class
– Therefore, a method can change the values stored in the
indexed variables of an array argument
• A method with an array parameter must specify the
base type of the array only
BaseType[]
– It does not specify the length of the array
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Array Parameters
The following method, doubleElements, specifies an array of
double as its single argument: double array
#
public class SampleClass{
-
public static void doubleElements(double[] a){
- -
int i; -
-
l
for (i = 0; i < a.length; i++)
-
a[i] = a[i] * 2;
. . .
}
. . .
}
(continued)
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Array Parameters
• Arrays of double may be defined as follows:
- double[] ⑨ a = new double[10];
> -
-
- double[] b = new double[30];
- -
• Given the arrays above, the method doubleElements
-
from class SampleClass can be invoked- as follows:
> 10 element
SampleClass.doubleElements(a); array
-
SampleClass.doubleElements(b); 30 element array
=>
– Note that no square brackets are used when an entire
array is given as an argument
– Note also that a method that specifies an array for a
parameter can take an array of any length as an
argument
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= and0
Use ofo == with Arrays
• Because an array variable contains the memory
address of the array it names (it’s a reference), the
assignment operator (=) only copies this memory
address
– It does not copy the values of each indexed variable
– Using the assignment operator b = a; will make two array
variables be different names for the same array
– The memory address in a is now the same as the memory
address in b: They reference the same array
double (10]
double 2) a = new
;
(continued)
sat
a= =
b Twe
ne -
double [D bea;
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Use of = andO
== with Arrays
• A for loop is usually used to make two different arrays
-
-
have the same values in each indexed
double
position:
*
new
(10
double [I0]
;
⑫
new
for (int i = 0;(i < a.length) && (i < b.length); i++){
-
b[i] = a[i]; a = b
=
- false
=
}
*
– Note that the above code will not make b an exact copy
of a, unless a and b have the same length
-
w (continued)
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Use of = and O
== with Arrays
• For the same reason, the equality operator (==) only
tests two arrays to see if they are stored in the same
location in memory
– (a == b) does not test two arrays to see if they contain
the same values
– The result of the above boolean expression will be true if
a and b share the same memory address (and, therefore,
reference the same array), and false otherwise
(continued)
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Use of = and == with Arrays
• In the same way that an equals method can
be defined for a class, an equalsArray
-
method can be defined for a type of array
– This is how two arrays must be tested to see if they
contain the same elements
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Use of = and ①
== with Arrays
-
public static boolean equalsArray(int[] a,
int[] b){
if (a.length != b.length) return false;
--
else{
int i = 0;
I
while (i < a.length){
-
if (a[i] != b[i])
return false;
i++;
}
}
}
E
return true;
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Arguments for the Method main
• The heading for the main method of a program has
a parameter for an array of String
– It is usually called args by convention
-
public static void main(String[] args)
-
– Note that since args is a parameter, it could be replaced
by any other non-keyword identifier
• If a Java program is run without giving an argument
to main, then a default empty array of strings is
automatically provided
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Arguments for the Method main
• If a program requires that the main method
be provided an array of strings argument,
each element must be provided from the
command line when the program is run
#
java SomeProgram Hi ! there
– This will set args[0] to "Hi", args[1] to "!",
and args[2] to "there"
String() args
– It will also set args.length to 3
3
-
length
-
"Hi Y =
args [0) E arge
= .
1/ L
(
augs there
a
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Methods That Return an Array
• In Java, a method may also return an array
– The return type is specified in the same way that an array
parameter is specified. This method returns an array of int
&
public static int[] incrementArray(int[] a,
---
int increment){
e
=
int[] temp = new int[a.length];
for (int i = 0; i < a.length; i++)
temp[i] = &
=
a[i] + increment;
return temp;
-
}
main()
our [] b = MovementArray (a
S
,
5)
[0]
=>
b E
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Privacy Leaks with Array Instance Variables
• If an accessor method does return the contents of an
array, special care must be taken
– Just as when an accessor returns a reference to any private
object las PrivateClass &
public double[] getArray(){
⑭
portadouble
es
return anArray;
-
}
– The example above will result in a privacy leak.
dolcio
– Why is this so?
Private Class ③ new Private Class()
;
3
-
b .
get Array2)
< (0) = 10
= BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Privacy Leaks with Array Instance Variables
• The previous accessor method would simply return a reference
to the array anArray itself
• Instead, an accessor method should return a reference to a deep
copy of the private array object
– Below, a is an array which is an instance variable of the class containing
the getArray method
public double[] getArray(){
> create
-
a
> double[] temp = new double[a.length]; -
new
for (int i = 0; i < a.length; i++)
temp[i] = E
a[i]; array]
}
return temp
E Y
copy
the
original
into new
array
array
BITS Pilani, Pilani Campus
Privacy Leaks with Array Instance Variables
• If a private instance variable is an array that has a class as its
base type, then copies must be made of each class object in
the array when the array is copied. Here b is an array of class
types and an instance variable of the class containing the
getArray method
·
public ClassType[] getArray(){
-
ClassType[] temp = new ClassType[b.length];
&
for (int i = 0; i < b.length; i++)
&
temp[i] = new ClassType(b[i]);
return temp;
-
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Multidimensional Arrays
• It is sometimes useful to have an array with more
than one index
• Multidimensional arrays are declared and created in
basically the same way as one-dimensional arrays
– You simply use as many square brackets as there are
indices
– Each index must be enclosed in its own brackets
double[][]table = new double[100][10];
7
=> int[][][] figure = new int[10][20][30];
-
x
Person[][] = new Person[10][100];
p
=
SDor
-
Bor (0 10) [
to
10 to 100) 100 10
new Person(s
10 X 20x30
3
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Multidimensional Arrays
• Multidimensional arrays may have any number of
indices, but perhaps the most common number is
two
– Two-dimensional array can be visualized as a two-
dimensional display with the first index giving the row, and
the second index giving the column
char[][] a = new char[5][12];
– Note that, like a one-dimensional array, each element of a
multidimensional array is just a variable of the base type
(in this case, char)
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Multidimensional Arrays
• In Java, a two-dimensional array, such as a, is
actually an array of arrays
– The array a contains a reference to a one-dimensional
array of size 5 with a base type of char[]
– Each indexed variable (a[0], a[1], etc.) contains a
reference to a one-dimensional array of size 12, also with a
base type of char[]
• A three-dimensional array is an array of arrays of
arrays, and so forth for higher dimensions
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THANK YOU
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