Arrays

Abstract

An array is a data structure which, like a file, is composed of elements all of the same type. However, there are two important differences. First, whereas the number of components in a file is indeterminate and can change during the running of a program, the number of components in an array is predetermined and unalterable. Secondly, all the elements of an array are accessible at all times during the execution of the program, unlike a file whose elements, as we have seen, can be accessed only sequentially.