Arrays (C# Programming Guide)
You can store multiple variables of the same type in an array data structure. You declare an array by specifying the type of its elements.
type[] arrayName;
The following examples create single-dimensional, multidimensional, and jagged arrays:
class TestArraysClass
{
static void Main()
{
// Declare a single-dimensional array
int[] array1 = new int[5];
// Declare and set array element values
int[] array2 = new int[] { 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 };
// Alternative syntax
int[] array3 = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 };
// Declare a two dimensional array
int[,] multiDimensionalArray1 = new int[2, 3];
// Declare and set array element values
int[,] multiDimensionalArray2 = { { 1, 2, 3 }, { 4, 5, 6 } };
// Declare a jagged array
int[][] jaggedArray = new int[6][];
// Set the values of the first array in the jagged array structure
jaggedArray[0] = new int[4] { 1, 2, 3, 4 };
}
}
Array Overview
An array has the following properties:
An array can be Single-Dimensional, Multidimensional or Jagged.
The number of dimensions and the length of each dimension are established when the array instance is created. These values can't be changed during the lifetime of the instance.
The default values of numeric array elements are set to zero, and reference elements are set to null.
A jagged array is an array of arrays, and therefore its elements are reference types and are initialized to null.
Arrays are zero indexed: an array with n elements is indexed from 0 to n-1.
Array elements can be of any type, including an array type.
Array types are reference types derived from the abstract base type Array. Since this type implements IEnumerable and IEnumerable<T>, you can use foreach iteration on all arrays in C#.
Related Sections
C# Language Specification
For more information, see the C# Language Specification. The language specification is the definitive source for C# syntax and usage.