Chapter 8
Arrays and Strings
Objectives
• In this chapter, you will:
– Learn the reasons for arrays
– Explore how to declare and manipulate data into
arrays
– Understand the meaning of ‘‘array index out of
bounds’’
– Learn how to declare and initialize arrays
– Become familiar with the restrictions on array
processing
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 2
Objectives (cont’d.)
– Discover how to pass an array as a parameter to a
function
– Learn how to search an array
– Learn how to sort an array
– Become aware of auto declarations
– Learn about range-based for loops
– Learn about C-strings
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 3
Objectives (cont’d.)
– Examine the use of string functions to process
C-strings
– Discover how to input data into—and output data
from—a C-string
– Learn about parallel arrays
– Discover how to manipulate data in a
two-dimensional array
– Learn about multidimensional arrays
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 4
Introduction
• Simple data type: variables of these types can
store only one value at a time
• Structured data type: a data type in which
each data item is a collection of other data
items
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 5
Arrays
• Array: a collection of a fixed number of
components, all of the same data type
• One-dimensional array: components are
arranged in a list form
• Syntax for declaring a one-dimensional array:
• intExp: any constant expression that
evaluates to a positive integer
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 6
Accessing Array Components
• General syntax:
• indexExp: called the index
– An expression with a nonnegative integer value
• Value of the index is the position of the item in
the array
• []: array subscripting operator
– Array index always starts at 0
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Accessing Array Components (cont’d.)
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 8
Accessing Array Components (cont’d.)
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Processing One-Dimensional Arrays
• Basic operations on a one-dimensional array:
– Initializing
– Inputting data
– Outputting data stored in an array
– Finding the largest and/or smallest element
• Each operation requires ability to step through
elements of the array
– Easily accomplished by a loop
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 10
Processing One-Dimensional Arrays
(cont’d.)
• Given the declaration:
int list[100]; //array of size 100
int i;
• Use a for loop to access array elements:
for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) //Line 1
cin >> list[i]; //Line 2
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 11
Array Index Out of Bounds
• Index of an array is in bounds if the index is
>=0 and <= ARRAY_SIZE-1
– Otherwise, the index is out of bounds
• In C++, there is no guard against indices that
are out of bounds
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Array Initialization During Declaration
• Arrays can be initialized during declaration
– Values are placed between curly braces
– Size determined by the number of initial values in
the braces
• Example:
double sales[] = {12.25, 32.50, 16.90,
23, 45.68};
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 13
Partial Initialization of Arrays During
Declaration
• The statement:
int list[10] = {0};
–Declares an array of 10 components and initializes all
of them to zero
• The statement:
int list[10] = {8, 5, 12};
–Declares an array of 10 components and initializes
list[0] to 8, list[1] to 5, list[2] to 12
–All other components are initialized to 0
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 14
Some Restrictions on Array Processing
• Aggregate operation: any operation that
manipulates the entire array as a single unit
– Not allowed on arrays in C++
• Example:
• Solution:
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 15
Demo Code
int main() // function {
int x; for(int i=0;i<x;i++) {
cout<<"Enter array size: "; cout<<arr[i] + arr2[i];
cin>>x; }
int arr[x];
int arr2[] ={1,2,3}; //arr = arr2;
for(int i=0;i<x;i++) {
cout<<"Enter elements:";
arr[i] = arr2[i];
for(int i=0;i<x;i++) { }
cin>>arr[i];
} for(int i=0;i<x;i++) {
cout<<"You entered: "<<endl; cout<<arr[i]<<endl;
cout<<arr<<endl; }
for(int i=0;i<x;i++) {
return 0;
cout<<arr[i]<<endl; }
}
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 16
Practice Exercises
• Write a C++ program that declares an array alpha of
50 components of type double. Initialize the array so
that the first 25 components are equal to the square
of the index variable, and the last 25 components are
equal to three times the index variable. Output the
array so that 10 elements per line are printed.
– Hint: Use 2 loops. First to initialize initial 25 elements, second to
initialize other 25 elements
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 17
Practice Exercises
• Write a C++ function, smallestIndex, that takes as
parameters an int array and its size and returns the
index of the first occurrence of the smallest element
in the array. Also, write a program to test your
function.
• Write a program that reads a file consisting of students’ test scores in the
range 0–200. It should then determine the number of students having
scores in each of the following ranges: 0–24, 25–49, 50–74, 75–99,
100–124, 125–149, 150–174, and 175–200. Output the score ranges and
the number of students. (Run your program with the following input data:
76, 89, 150, 135, 200, 76, 12, 100, 150, 28, 178, 189, 167, 200, 175, 150,
87, 99, 129, 149, 176, 200, 87, 35, 157, 189.)
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 18
Arrays as Parameters to Functions
• Arrays are passed by reference only
• Do not use symbol & when declaring an array
as a formal parameter
• Size of the array is usually omitted
– If provided, it is ignored by the compiler
• Example:
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Constant Arrays
as Formal Parameters
• Can prevent a function from changing the
actual parameter when passed by reference
– Use const in the declaration of the formal
parameter
• Example:
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Base Address of an Array and Array in
Computer Memory
• Base address of an array: address (memory
location) of the first array component
• Example:
– If list is a one-dimensional array, its base
address is the address of list[0]
• When an array is passed as a parameter, the
base address of the actual array is passed to
the formal parameter
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Functions Cannot Return a Value of
the Type Array
• C++ does not allow functions to return a value
of type array
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Integral Data Type
and Array Indices
• C++ allows any integral type to be used as an
array index
– Improves code readability
• Example:
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Other Ways to Declare Arrays
• Examples:
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Searching an Array
for a Specific Item
• Sequential search (or linear search):
– Searching a list for a given item, starting from the
first array element
– Compare each element in the array with value
being searched for
– Continue the search until item is found or no more
data is left in the list
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 25
Sorting
• Selection sort: rearrange the list by selecting
an element and moving it to its proper
position
• Steps:
– Find the smallest element in the unsorted portion
of the list
– Move it to the top of the unsorted portion by
swapping with the element currently there
– Start again with the rest of the list
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 26
Selection Sort (cont’d.)
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 27
Auto Declaration and Range-Based
For Loops
• C++11 allows auto declaration of variables
– Data type does not need to be specified
auto num = 15; // num is assumed int
• Range-based for loop
sum = 0;
for (double num : list) // For each num
sum = sum + num; // in list
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 28
C-Strings (Character Arrays)
• Character array: an array whose components
are of type char
• C-strings are null-terminated ('\0‘)
character arrays
• Example:
– 'A' is the character A
– "A" is the C-string A
– "A" represents two characters, 'A' and '\0‘
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C-Strings (Character Arrays) (cont’d.)
• Example:
char name[16];
• Since C-strings are null terminated and name
has 16 components, the largest string it can
store has 15 characters
• If you store a string whose length is less than
the array size, the last components are unused
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C-Strings (Character Arrays) (cont’d.)
• Size of an array can be omitted if the array is
initialized during declaration
• Example:
char name[] = "John";
– Declares an array of length 5 and stores the
C-string "John" in it
• Useful string manipulation functions
– strcpy, strcmp, and strlen
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String Comparison
• C-strings are compared character by character
using the collating sequence of the system
– Use the function strcmp
• If using the ASCII character set:
– "Air" < "Boat"
– "Air" < "An"
– "Bill" < "Billy"
– "Hello" < "hello"
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 32
Reading and Writing Strings
• Most rules for arrays also apply to C-strings
(which are character arrays)
• Aggregate operations, such as assignment and
comparison, are not allowed on arrays
• C++ does allow aggregate operations for the
input and output of C-strings
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 33
String Input
• Example:
cin >> name;
– Stores the next input C-string into name
• To read strings with blanks, use get function:
cin.get(str, m+1);
– Stores the next m characters into str but the
newline character is not stored in str
– If input string has fewer than m characters, reading
stops at the newline character
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 34
String Output
• Example:
cout << name;
– Outputs the content of name on the screen
– << continues to write the contents of name until it
finds the null character
– If name does not contain the null character, then
strange output may occur
• << continues to output data from memory adjacent to
name until a '\0' is found
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Specifying Input/Output Files at
Execution Time
• User can specify the name of an input and/or
output file at execution time:
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string Type
and Input/Output Files
• Argument to the open function must be a
null-terminated string (a C-string)
– If using a string variable for the name of an I/O
file, the value must first be converted to a C-string
before calling open
– Use the c_str function to convert
• Syntax:
strVar.c_str()
– Where strVar is a variable of type string
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 37
Parallel Arrays
• Two (or more) arrays are called parallel if their
corresponding components hold related
information
• Example:
int studentId[50];
char courseGrade[50];
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 38
Two- and Multidimensional Arrays
• Two-dimensional array: collection of a fixed
number of components (of the same type)
arranged in two dimensions
– Sometimes called matrices or tables
• Declaration syntax:
– intExp1 and intExp2 are expressions with
positive integer values specifying the number of
rows and columns in the array
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 39
Accessing Array Components
• Accessing components in a two-dimensional
array:
– Where indexExp1 and indexExp2 are
expressions with positive integer values, and
specify the row and column position
• Example:
sales[5][3] = 25.75;
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Accessing Array Components (cont’d.)
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 41
Two-Dimensional Array Initialization
During Declaration
• Two-dimensional arrays can be initialized
when they are declared:
– Elements of each row are enclosed within braces
and separated by commas
– All rows are enclosed within braces
– For number arrays, unspecified elements are set
to 0
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Two-Dimensional Arrays and
Enumeration Types
• Enumeration types can be used for array
indices:
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Processing Two-Dimensional Arrays
• Ways to process a two-dimensional array:
– Process entire array
– Row processing: process a single row at a time
– Column processing: process a single column at a
time
• Each row and each column of a
two-dimensional array is a one-dimensional
array
– To process, use algorithms similar to processing
one-dimensional arrays
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Initialization
• Examples:
– To initialize row number 4 (fifth row) to 0:
– To initialize the entire matrix to 0:
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Print
• Use a nested loop to output the components
of a two dimensional array:
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Input
• Examples:
– To input into row number 4 (fifth row):
– To input data into each component of matrix:
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Sum by Row
• Example:
– To find the sum of row number 4:
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Sum by Column
• Example:
– To find the sum of each individual column:
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Largest Element in Each Row
and Each Column
• Example:
– To find the largest element in each row:
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Passing Two-Dimensional Arrays as
Parameters to Functions
• Two-dimensional arrays are passed by
reference as parameters to a function
– Base address is passed to formal parameter
• Two-dimensional arrays are stored in row
order
• When declaring a two-dimensional array as a
formal parameter, can omit size of first
dimension, but not the second
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Arrays of Strings
• Strings in C++ can be manipulated using either
the data type string or character arrays
(C-strings)
• On some compilers, the data type string
may not be available in Standard C++ (i.e.,
non-ANSI/ISO Standard C++)
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Arrays of Strings
and the string Type
• To declare an array of 100 components of type
string:
string list[100];
• Basic operations, such as assignment,
comparison, and input/output, can be
performed on values of the string type
• The data in list can be processed just like
any one-dimensional array
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 53
Arrays of Strings and C-Strings
(Character Arrays)
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 54
Multidimensional Arrays
• n-dimensional array: collection of a fixed
number of elements arranged in n dimensions
(n >= 1)
• Declaration syntax:
• To access a component:
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 55
Summary
• Array: structured data type with a fixed
number of components of the same type
– Components are accessed using their relative
positions in the array
• Elements of a one-dimensional array are
arranged in the form of a list
• An array index can be any expression that
evaluates to a nonnegative integer
– Must always be less than the size of the array
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 56
Summary (cont’d.)
• The base address of an array is the address of
the first array component
• When passing an array as an actual
parameter, use only its name
– Passed by reference only
• A function cannot return an array type value
• C++11 allows auto declaration of variables
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 57
Summary (cont’d.)
• In C++, C-strings are null terminated and are
stored in character arrays
• Commonly used C-string manipulation
functions include:
– strcpy, strcmp, and strlen
• Parallel arrays hold related information
• In a two-dimensional array, the elements are
arranged in a table form
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 58
Summary (cont’d.)
• To access an element of a two-dimensional
array, you need a pair of indices:
– One for row position, one for column position
• In row processing, a two-dimensional array is
processed one row at a time
• In column processing, a two-dimensional array
is processed one column at a time
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Seventh Edition 59
