Module 2: Arrays & Strings in C#
Learning Objectives
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
Explain what arrays and strings are in C#.
Differentiate between 1D, 2D, and jagged arrays.
Perform traversal, insertion, deletion, and searching on arrays.
Understand how strings behave like character arrays.
Apply arrays and strings to real-world problems such as managing student grades.
Introduction to Arrays
Why Arrays?
Imagine you want to store the grades of 5 students. Without arrays, you’d write:
This is inefficient and hard to manage.
An array is a collection of items stored under one name, where each item is identified by an
index number.
Arrays are fixed size. Once you declare the number of elements, it cannot be changed.
Arrays are zero-indexed: the first element is at index 0.
Declaring an Array
datatype[] arrayName = new datatype[size];
Example:
One-Dimensional (1D) Arrays
A 1D array is a simple list of values stored in a straight line (like lockers in a hallway).
Example:
int[] numbers = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};
Visual Representation
Index 0 1 2 3 4
Value 10 20 30 40 50
Traversing a 1D Array
Learning Point:
.Length gives the number of elements.
Arrays let us store multiple values without creating separate variables.
Two-Dimensional (2D) Arrays
A 2D array is like a table with rows and columns.
The first index = row number.
The second index = column number.
Syntax:
datatype[,] arrayName = new datatype[rows, columns];
Example:
Visual Representation
This stores grades for 2 students across 3 subjects:
Student ↓ / Subject → Subject 1 Subject 2 Subject 3
Student 1 90 85 88
Student 2 75 80 95
grades[0,0] = 90 → Student 1, Subject 1
grades[0,1] = 85 → Student 1, Subject 2
grades[1,2] = 95 → Student 2, Subject 3
Traversing a 2D Array
Output:
Student 1: 90 85 88
Student 2: 75 80 95
Learning Point:
Use 2D arrays for tabular data like student marks, seating charts, or multiplication tables.
Jagged Arrays
A jagged array is an array of arrays, where each row can have a different number of elements.
Syntax:
datatype[][] arrayName = new datatype[rows][];
Example:
Visual Representation
Student Grades
1 90, 85
2 75, 80, 95
3 60, 70, 85, 90
Traversing a Jagged Array
Learning Point:
Jagged arrays are flexible — good when each row of data is of different length (e.g., students
with different number of subjects).
Operations on Arrays
(a) Traversal
Visiting every element.
(b) Insertion
To insert into an array, shift elements to make space.
(c) Deletion
shift elements left to overwrite the deleted value.
(d) Searching
Find an element by checking each index.
Learning Point:
Arrays are fixed size → you must shift elements when inserting or deleting.
Strings in C#
A string is a sequence of characters.
In C#, strings are objects, but they behave like character arrays.
Example:
Strings as Character Arrays
Learning Point:
Strings are immutable → you can’t directly change a character.
To modify, convert into a char[], make changes, then rebuild the string.
Mini Project: Student Grades Manager
Goal: A program that allows input of grades, displays them, calculates average, and searches
for a grade.
Learning Point:
This ties everything together:
Array stores grades.
Traversal displays grades.
Calculation uses loops.
Searching demonstrates finding a grade.
