Lesson on Arrays in Java

Introduction

Arrays are fundamental data structures in Java that allow storing multiple elements of the same type under a single variable.
They provide a convenient way to work with collections of data efficiently.

Array Creation and Access

Use of Array Objects: Arrays allow multiple related items to be represented using a single variable.
Fixed Size: The size of an array is established at the time of creation and cannot be changed.
Initialization: Arrays are created using the new keyword, and their elements are initialized with specific values based on the type of element. Elements of reference type are initialized to the reference value null.
ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: Accessing elements outside the bounds of the array leads to this exception.

public class ArrayExceptionExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        int[] numbers = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

        // accessing element out of bounds of array
        int indexOutOfRange = numbers[10]; // this will throw the error
    }
}

ArrayExceptionExample.main(null);

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

java.lang.ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException: Index 10 out of bounds for length 5

	at ArrayExceptionExample.main(#12:6)

	at .(#13:1)

import java.util.Random;

public class Array {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // creating array of integers with size 5
        int[] numbers = new int[5];

        // generating random values and assigning them to elements of the array
        Random random = new Random();
        for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
            numbers[i] = random.nextInt(100); // random integers are between 0 and 99
        }

        // accessing and printing elements of the array
        for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
            System.out.println("Element at index " + i + ": " + numbers[i]);
        }
    }
}

Array.main(null);

Element at index 0: 18
Element at index 1: 21
Element at index 2: 1
Element at index 3: 57
Element at index 4: 15

Traversing Arrays

Iteration Statements: Iteration statements like for or while loops are used to access all elements in an array.
Indexed Access: Traversing an array with an indexed for loop or while loop requires accessing elements using their indices.

Enhanced for loop for Arrays

Syntax: An enhanced for loop header includes a variable that iterates over each element in the array.
Element Access: During each iteration, the enhanced for loop variable is assigned a copy of an element without using its index.
Immutability: Modifying the enhanced for loop variable does not change the value stored in the array.
Flexibility: Program code using an enhanced for loop for array traversal can be rewritten using an indexed for loop or a while loop.

public class ArrayTraversal {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
        // creating integer array
        int[] numbers = {10, 20, 30, 40, 50};

        // traversing array with for loop
        System.out.println("Traversing the array using a for loop:");
        for (int i = 0; i < numbers.length; i++) {
            System.out.println("Element at index " + i + ": " + numbers[i]);
        }

        // traversing array with enhanced for loop
        System.out.println("\nTraversing the array using an enhanced for loop:");
        for (int num : numbers) {
            System.out.println("Element: " + num);
        }
    }
}

ArrayTraversal.main(null);

Traversing the array using a for loop:
Element at index 0: 10
Element at index 1: 20
Element at index 2: 30
Element at index 3: 40
Element at index 4: 50

Traversing the array using an enhanced for loop:
Element: 10
Element: 20
Element: 30
Element: 40
Element: 50

FRQ Tip for Developing Algorithms Using Arrays

Be familiar with certain algorithms that are likely to come on the exam:

Determine the minimum or maximum value in an array
Compute a sum, average, or mode of array elements
Search for a particular element in the array
Determine if at least one element has a particular property
Determine if all elements have a particular property
Access all consecutive pairs of elements
Determine the presence or absence of duplicate elements
Determine the number of elements meeting specific criteria
Shift or rotate elements left or right
Reverse the order of the elements

SAMPLE FRQ PART: 2019 Question 3

A string containing text and possibly delimiters has been split into tokens and stored in String[] tokens. Each token is either an open delimiter, a close delimiter, or a substring that is not a delimiter. You will write the method getDelimitersList, which returns an ArrayList containing all the open and close delimiters found in tokens in their original order.

Complete method getDelimitersList below:

public ArrayList getDelimitersList (String[] tokens)

GIVEN SOLUTION

public ArrayList<String> getDelimitersList(String[] tokens)
{
    // creating a new ArrayList to store delimiter tokens
    ArrayList<String> d = new ArrayList<String>();
    
    // use enhanced for loop to iterate through each token in the provided array
    for (String str : tokens)
    {
        // check if current token is equal to the specified open delimiter or close delimiter
        if (str.equals(openDel) || str.equals(closeDel))
        {
            // if token is delimiter, add to arraylist
            d.add(str);
        }
    }
    
    // return arraylist with delimiter tokens
    return d;
}

SCORING CRITERIA

Create the ArrayList

Accesses all elements in array tokens without any bound errors.

Compares strings in tokens with both instance variables which must be in the context of a loop.

Adds delimiters into ArrayList in original order.

HACKS

PART A: How does the use of an array simplify the management of related data compared to individual variables?

PART B: Develop an algorithm to find the median value of an integer array WITHOUT sorting the array.

Arrays • 14 min read

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