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Questions tagged [array]

An array is a systematic arrangement of similar objects, usually in rows and columns.

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Why are zero-based arrays the norm?

A question asked here reminded me of a discussion I had with a fellow programmer. He argued that zero-based arrays should be replaced with one-based arrays since arrays being zero-based is an implementation detail that originates from the way arrays…
Tamas Czinege
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How do I move away from the “for-loop” school of thought?

This is a rather conceptual question, but I was hoping I could get some good advice on this. A lot of the programming I do is with (NumPy) arrays; I often have to match items in two or more arrays that are of different sizes and the first thing I go…
turnip
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What's the use of .Any() in a C# List<>?

I've been discussing this with colleagues, and we couldn't figure out what the use is of .Any for any given List<>, in C#. You can check the validity of an element in the array like the following statement: if (MyList.Any()){ ...} //Returns true or…
Gil Sand
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Is initializing a char[] with a string literal bad practice?

I was reading a thread titled "strlen vs sizeof" on CodeGuru, and one of the replies states that "it's anyways [sic] bad practice to initialie [sic] a char array with a string literal." Is this true, or is that just his (albeit an "elite member")…
Cole Tobin
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How to store ordered information in a Relational Database

I am trying to understand how to properly store ordered information in a relational database. An example: Say I have a Playlist, consisting of Songs. Inside my Relational Database, I have a table of Playlists, containing some metadata (name,…
Qqwy
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PHP: when to use arrays, and when to use objects for mostly-data-storing code constructs?

PHP is a mixed paradigm language, allowing to use and return non-object data types, such as arrays. I pose a question to try to clarify some guidelines for selection of arrays vs objects when deciding upon what programming construct to use in a…
Dennis
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How does the "Fourth Dimension" work with arrays?

Abstract: So, as I understand it (although I have a very limited understanding), there are three dimensions that we (usually) work with physically: The 1st would be represented by a line. The 2nd would be represented by a square. The 3rd would be…
Questionmark
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Should I use a list or an array?

I'm working on a windows form to calculate UPC for item numbers. I successfully create one that will handle one item number/UPC at a time, now I want to expand and do it for multiple item numbers/UPCs. I have started and tried using a list, but I…
campagnolo_1
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Professional way to produce a large problem without filling up huge arrays: C++, free memory from part of an array

I'm developing a physics simulation, and as I'm rather new to programming, I keep running into problems when producing large programs (memory issues mainly). I know about dynamic memory allocation and deletion (new / delete, etc), but I need a…
Drummermean
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How can Rust be "safer" and "faster" than C++ at the same time?

I have been told that Rust is both safer and faster than C++. If that is true, how can that be even possible? I mean, a safer language means that more code is written inside the compiler, right? More code means more instructions for the processor to…
euraad
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size_t or int for dimensions, index, etc

In C++, size_t (or, more correctly T::size_type which is "usually" size_t; i.e., a unsigned type) is used as the return value for size(), the argument to operator[], etc. (see std::vector, et. al.) On the other hand, .NET languages use int (and,…
Ðаn
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Why prefer sizeof(element) over sizeof(TYPE) for calculating the number of elements in an array?

I'm reading "King K.N's C programming" and found the following statement: We discussed using the expression sizeof(a)/sizeof(a[0]) to calculate the number of elements in an array. The expression sizeof(a)/sizeof(t), where t is the type of a's…
Higgs
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Why can't C arrays have 0 length?

The C11 standard says the arrays, both sized and variable length "shall have a value greater than zero." What is the justification for not allowing a length of 0? Especially for variable length arrays it makes perfect sense to have a size of zero…
Kevin Cox
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What is the difference between an Array and a Stack?

According to Wikipedia, a stack: is a last in, first out (LIFO) abstract data type and linear data structure. While an array: is a data structure consisting of a collection of elements (values or variables), each identified by at least one array…
Dynamic
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How did the custom of using square brackets for array elements develop?

Many programming language use the syntax a[i] to refer to the i'th element of an array, sequence, or vector a - specifically, C and Pascal (from the late 1960s and early 1970s) do this. On the other hand, some earlier languages, like that Fortran…
einpoklum
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