Different Numbers of Cells per Row

Classic programmed-learning exercises, refreshed for modern Java and presented in the current MrStyner.com portfolio style.

Modern Java noteThis archive has been refreshed for Java 25 LTS. Core language concepts remain useful, while outdated setup instructions and browser-era Java are labeled or replaced. Java 26 is the current feature release; Java 25 is used here as the stable teaching baseline.
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int[][] myArray = { {8,1,2,2,9}, {1,9,4,0,3}, {0,3,0,0,7} };

Answer:

What is the value myArray[1][2] ? 4

(Remember that array indexes start at 0 for both rows and columns.)

Different Numbers of Cells per Row

Each row of a 2D array may have a different number of cells. In the following example, the array uneven has

  • 3 cells in its first row,
  • 2 in its second row,
  • and 5 in its last row.

An array element has to exist to be used in a program. If a program refers to an element that does not exist, bounds checking will catch the error (as the program runs) and generate an exception (which will usually halt your program.)

class UnevenExample
{
  public static void main( String[] arg )
  {
    // declare and construct a 2D array
    int[][] uneven = 
        { { 1, 9, 4 },
          { 0, 2},
          { 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 } };

    System.out.println("uneven[0][2] is ", + uneven[0][2] ) ; // OK 
    System.out.println("uneven[1][1] is ", + uneven[1][1] ) ; // OK 
    System.out.println("uneven[1][2] is ", + uneven[1][2] ) ; // WRONG! 

    uneven[2][4] = 97;  // OK 
    uneven[1][4] = 97;  // WRONG! 

    int val = uneven[0][2] ;  // OK 
    int sum = uneven[1][2] ;  // WRONG! 
  }
}

Making an assignment to an element that does not exist is an error. It will not create room in the array for the element.

QUESTION 8:

Which of the following are correct?

  • uneven[ 0 ][ 2 ]
  • uneven[ 1 ][ 1 ]
  • uneven[ 2 ][ 5 ]
  • uneven[ 3 ][ 0 ]