C Tutorial

📝 Arrays in C

In C, an array is a collection of variables of the same data type that are stored in contiguous memory locations. Arrays allow you to store multiple values in a single variable, which makes handling large datasets much easier!

🔄 What is an Array?

An array is defined by the following syntax:

data_type array_name[array_size];
  

Where:

• data_type: Type of data to be stored (e.g., int, char, float, etc.).
• array_name: Name of the array.
• array_size: Number of elements the array can hold.

🧑‍💻 Example: Declaring and Initializing an Array

Here's how you can declare and initialize an array in C:

#include 

int main() {
    int arr[5] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; // Declare and initialize array

    // Printing array elements
    for(int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
        printf("%d ", arr[i]); // Accessing each element by index
    }
    return 0;
}
  

🔧 Array Indexing

In C, arrays are zero-indexed. This means that the first element of an array is accessed using index 0, the second element with index 1, and so on. Here's an example:

int arr[5] = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};

printf("First element: %d\n", arr[0]);  // Output: 10
printf("Third element: %d\n", arr[2]);  // Output: 30
  

🎯 Multidimensional Arrays

In C, you can also declare multidimensional arrays. These are arrays of arrays. Here's how you can declare a 2D array:

#include 

int main() {
    int arr[2][3] = {{1, 2, 3}, {4, 5, 6}};  // 2D array initialization

    // Accessing and printing 2D array elements
    for(int i = 0; i < 2; i++) {
        for(int j = 0; j < 3; j++) {
            printf("%d ", arr[i][j]);
        }
        printf("\n");
    }
    return 0;
}
  

🔄 Array Operations

🎮 Practice: Array Manipulations

⚡ Tips for Using Arrays

• Index Out of Range: Be cautious when accessing array elements. Accessing an element out of bounds leads to undefined behavior.
• Memory Allocation: Arrays in C are fixed in size once declared. If you need dynamic resizing, consider using pointers or dynamic memory allocation.
• Multidimensional Arrays: While 2D arrays are common, you can have arrays with more dimensions like 3D, 4D, etc.

🔧 Array Debugging

💡 Final Thoughts

Arrays are one of the most fundamental data structures in C. They're efficient for storing multiple items of the same type and can be used for a variety of operations. Mastering arrays opens the door to understanding more complex data structures like linked lists, stacks, and queues.