C++ Programming:

From Problem Analysis

to Program Design, Fourth Edition

Chapter 9: Arrays and Strings

Objectives
In this chapter, you will:
• Learn about arrays
• Explore how to declare and manipulate data
into arrays
• Understand the meaning of “array index out of
bounds”
• Become familiar with the restrictions on array
processing
• Discover how to pass an array as a parameter
to a function
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 2
Objectives (continued)

• Learn about C-strings

• Examine the use of string functions to
process C-strings
• Discover how to input data into—and output
data from—a C-string
• Learn about parallel arrays
• Discover how to manipulate data in a two-
dimensional array
• Learn about multidimensional arrays

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 3

Data Types

• A data type is called simple if variables of that

type can store only one value at a time
• A structured data type is one in which each
data item is a collection of other data items

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 4

Arrays
• Array: a collection of a fixed number of
components wherein all of the components
have the same data type
• In a one-dimensional array, the components
are arranged in a list form
• Syntax for declaring a one-dimensional array:

intExp evaluates to a positive integer

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 5

Arrays (continued)

• Example:
int num[5];

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 6

Accessing Array Components
• General syntax:

where indexExp, called an index, is any expression

whose value is a nonnegative integer
• Index value specifies the position of the
component in the array
• [] is the array subscripting operator
• The array index always starts at 0

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 7

Accessing Array Components
(continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 8

Accessing Array Components
(continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 9

Accessing Array Components
(continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 10

Accessing Array Components
(continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 11

Processing One-Dimensional Arrays
• Some basic operations performed on a one-
dimensional array are:
− Initializing
− Inputting data
− Outputting data stored in an array
− Finding the largest and/or smallest element
• Each operation requires ability to step through
the elements of the array
• Easily accomplished by a loop

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 12

Processing One-Dimensional Arrays
(continued)
• Consider the declaration
int list[100]; //array of size 100
int i;

• Using for loops to access array elements:

for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) //Line 1
//process list[i] //Line 2
• Example:
for (i = 0; i < 100; i++) //Line 1
cin >> list[i]; //Line 2
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 13
Array Index Out of Bounds
• If we have the statements:
double num[10];
int i;
• The component num[i] is valid if i = 0, 1, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9
• The index of an array is in bounds if the index
>=0 and the index <= ARRAY_SIZE-1
− Otherwise, we say the index is out of bounds
• In C++, there is no guard against indices that
are out of bounds
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 15
Array Initialization During
Declaration
• Arrays can be initialized during declaration
− In this case, it is not necessary to specify the size
of the array
• Size determined by the number of initial values in the
braces
• Example:
double sales[] = {12.25, 32.50, 16.90, 23, 45.68};

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 16

Partial Initialization of Arrays
During Declaration
• The statement:
int list[10] = {0};
declares list to be an array of 10 components
and initializes all of them to zero
• The statement:
int list[10] = {8, 5, 12};
declares list to be an array of 10 components,
initializes list[0] to 8, list[1] to 5,
list[2] to 12 and all other components are
initialized to 0
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 17
Partial Initialization of Arrays
During Declaration (continued)
• The statement:
int list[] = {5, 6, 3};
declares list to be an array of 3 components
and initializes list[0] to 5, list[1] to 6, and
list[2] to 3
• The statement:
int list[25]= {4, 7};
declares an array of 25 components; initializes
list[0] to 4 and list[1] to 7; all other
components are initialized to 0
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 18
Some Restrictions on Array
Processing
• Consider the following statements:

• C++ does not allow aggregate operations on

an array:

• Solution:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 19

Some Restrictions on Array
Processing (continued)
• The following is illegal too:

• Solution:

• The following statements are legal, but do not

give the desired results:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 20

Arrays as Parameters to Functions
• Arrays are passed by reference only
• The symbol & is not used when declaring an
array as a formal parameter
• The size of the array is usually omitted
− If provided, it is ignored by the compiler

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 21

Constant Arrays as Formal
Parameters

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 22

Base Address of an Array and
Array in Computer Memory
• The base address of an array is the address, or
memory location of the first array component
• If list is a one-dimensional array, its base
address is the address of list[0]
• When we pass an array as a parameter, the
base address of the actual array is passed to
the formal parameter

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 23

Functions Cannot Return a Value
of the Type Array
• C++ does not allow functions to return a
value of the type array

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 25

Integral Data Type and Array
Indices
• C++ allows any integral type to be used as an
array index
• Example:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 26

Other Ways to Declare Arrays

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 27

C-Strings (Character Arrays)

• Character array: an array whose components

are of type char
• C-strings are null-terminated ('\0') character
arrays
• Example:
− 'A' is the character A
− "A" is the C-string A
• "A" represents two characters, 'A' and '\0‘

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 28

C-Strings (Character Arrays)
(continued)
• Consider the statement
char name[16];
• Since C-strings are null terminated and name
has 16 components, the largest string that it
can store has 15 characters
• If you store a string of length, say 10 in name
− The first 11 components of name are used
and the last five are left unused

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 29

C-Strings (Character Arrays)
(continued)
• The statement
char name[16] = "John";
declares an array name of length 16 and
stores the C-string "John" in it
• The statement
char name[] = "John";
declares an array name of length 5 and stores
the C-string "John" in it

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 30

C-Strings (Character Arrays)
(continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 31

String Comparison

• C-strings are compared character by

character using the collating sequence of the
system
• If we are using the ASCII character set
− "Air" < "Boat"
− "Air" < "An"
− "Bill" < "Billy"
− "Hello" < "hello"

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 32

Reading and Writing Strings

• Most rules that apply to arrays apply to C-

strings as well
• Aggregate operations, such as assignment and
comparison, are not allowed on arrays
• Even the input/output of arrays is done
component-wise
• The one place where C++ allows aggregate
operations on arrays is the input and output of
C-strings (that is, character arrays)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 34

String Input
• cin >> name; stores the next input C-
string into name
• To read strings with blanks, use get:
cin.get(str, m+1);
− Stores the next m characters into str but the
newline character is not stored in str
− If the input string has fewer than m
characters, the reading stops at the newline
character

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 35

String Output

• cout << name; outputs the content of

name on the screen
− << continues to write the contents of name
until it finds the null character
− If name does not contain the null character,
then we will see strange output
• << continues to output data from memory
adjacent to name until '\0' is found

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 36

Specifying Input/Output Files at
Execution Time
• You can let the user specify the name of the
input and/or output file at execution time:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 37

string Type and Input/Output
Files
• Argument to the function open must be a
null-terminated string (a C-string)
• If we use a variable of type string to read
the name of an I/O file, the value must first be
converted to a C-string before calling open
• Syntax:
strVar.c_str()
where strVar is a variable of type string

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 38

Parallel Arrays

• Two (or more) arrays are called parallel if

their corresponding components hold related
information
• Example:
int studentId[50];
char courseGrade[50];

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 39

Two-Dimensional Arrays

• Two-dimensional array: collection of a fixed

number of components (of the same type)
arranged in two dimensions
− Sometimes called matrices or tables
• Declaration syntax:

where intexp1 and intexp2 are expressions

yielding positive integer values, and specify the
number of rows and the number of columns,
respectively, in the array
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 40
Two-Dimensional Arrays
(continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 41

Accessing Array Components

• Syntax:

where indexexp1 and indexexp2 are

expressions yielding nonnegative integer values,
and specify the row and column position

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 42

Accessing Array Components
(continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 43

Two-Dimensional Array
Initialization During Declaration
• Two-dimensional arrays can be initialized
when they are declared:

− Elements of each row are enclosed within

braces and separated by commas
− All rows are enclosed within braces
− For number arrays, if all components of a row
aren’t specified, unspecified ones are set to 0
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 44
Two-Dimensional Arrays and
Enumeration Types

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 45

Processing Two-Dimensional
Arrays
• Ways to process a two-dimensional array:
− Process the entire array
− Process a particular row of the array, called
row processing
− Process a particular column of the array,
called column processing
• Each row and each column of a two-
dimensional array is a one-dimensional array
− To process, use algorithms similar to
processing one-dimensional arrays
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 46
Processing Two-Dimensional
Arrays (continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 47

Initialization

• To initialize row number 4 (i.e., fifth row) to 0

• To initialize the entire matrix to 0:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 48

Print

• To output the components of matrix:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 49

Input

• To input data into each component of

matrix:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 50

Sum by Row

• To find the sum of row number 4 of matrix:

• To find the sum of each individual row:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 51

Sum by Column

• To find the sum of each individual column:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 52

Largest Element in Each Row and
Each Column

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 53

Reversing Diagonal

• Before:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 54

Reversing Diagonal (continued)

• To reverse both the diagonals:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 55

Reversing Diagonal (continued)

• After:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 56

Passing Two-Dimensional Arrays as
Parameters to Functions
• Two-dimensional arrays can be passed as
parameters to a function
− Pass by reference
• Base address (address of first component of the
actual parameter) is passed to formal parameter
• Two-dimensional arrays are stored in row
order
• When declaring a two-dimensional array as a
formal parameter, can omit size of first
dimension, but not the second
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 57
Arrays of Strings

• Strings in C++ can be manipulated using

either the data type string or character arrays
(C-strings)
• On some compilers, the data type string
may not be available in Standard C++ (i.e.,
non-ANSI/ISO Standard C++)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 58

Arrays of Strings and the string
Type
• To declare an array of 100 components of
type string:
string list[100];
• Basic operations, such as assignment,
comparison, and input/output, can be
performed on values of the string type
• The data in list can be processed just like
any one-dimensional array

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 59

Arrays of Strings and C-Strings
(Character Arrays)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 60

Another Way to Declare a Two-
Dimensional Array
• Consider the following:

• To declare an array of 20 rows and 10

columns:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 61

Multidimensional Arrays

• Multidimensional array: collection of a fixed

number of elements (called components)
arranged in n dimensions (n >= 1)
− Also called an n-dimensional array
• Declaration syntax:

• To access a component:

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 62

 Multidimensional Arrays (continued)
• When declaring a multidimensional array as a
formal parameter in a function
− Can omit size of first dimension but not other
dimensions
• As parameters, multidimensional arrays are
passed by reference only
• A function cannot return a value of the type array
• There is no check if the array indices are within
bounds

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 63

Programming Example: Code
Detection
• When a message is transmitted in secret code
over a transmission channel, it is usually
transmitted as a sequence of bits (0s and 1s)
• Due to noise in the transmission channel, the
transmitted message may become corrupted
− Message received at destination is not the
same as the message transmitted
− Some of the bits may have been changed

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 64

Programming Example: Code
Detection (continued)
• Several techniques to check the validity of the
transmitted message at the destination
• One technique is to transmit the same
message twice
− At the destination, both copies of the message
are compared bit by bit
− If the corresponding bits are the same, the
message received is error-free

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 65

Programming Example: Code
Detection (continued)
• We write a program to check if the message
received at the destination is error-free
• For simplicity, assume that:
− The secret code representing the message is
a sequence of digits (0 to 9)
− The maximum length of the message is 250
digits
• The first number in the message is the length
of the message

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 66

Programming Example: Code
Detection (continued)
• If the secret code is
7 9 2 7 8 3 5 6
then the message is seven digits long
• The above message is transmitted (twice) as
7 9 2 7 8 3 5 6 7 9 2 7 8 3 5 6
• Input: a file containing the secret code and its
copy
• Output: the secret code, its copy, and a
message if the received code is error-free
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 67
Programming Example: Code
Detection (continued)
• The results are output in the following form:
Code Digit Code Digit Copy
9 9
2 2
7 7
8 8
3 3
5 5
6 6
• Message transmitted OK

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 68

Programming Example: Problem
Analysis
• Because we have to compare digits of the
secret code and its copy:
− First, read the secret code and store it in an
array
− Next, read first digit of the copy and compare it
with the first digit of the code, and so on
− If any corresponding digits are not the same,
print a message next to the digits
• The first number in the secret code, and in
the copy, indicates the length of the code
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 69
Programming Example: Algorithm
Design
• Open the input and output files
• If the input file does not exist, exit the
program
• Read the length of the secret code
• If the length of the secret code is greater than
250, terminate the program because the
maximum length of the code in this program
is 250
• Read and store the secret code into an array
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 70
Programming Example: Algorithm
Design (continued)
• Read the length of the copy
• If the length of the secret code and its copy
are the same, compare the codes; otherwise,
print an error message
• Note: To simplify function main, write a
function, readCode, to read the secret code
and another function, compareCode, to
compare the codes

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 71

Programming Example:
readCode
• First, read length of secret code
• If length of secret code is greater than 250
− Set lenCodeOk (a reference parameter) to
false and the function terminates
• Value of lenCodeOk is passed to calling
function to indicate if secret code was read
successfully
• If length of code is less than 250, readCode
reads and stores secret code into an array

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 72

Programming Example:
readCode (continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 73

Programming Example:
compareCode
• Set a bool variable codeOk to true
• If length of code and copy are not equal
− Output error message and terminate function
• For each digit in input file
− Read the next digit of secret code copy
− Output digits from code and copy
− If corresponding digits are not equal, output
error message and set codeOk to false
• If codeOk, output message indicating code
transmitted OK, else output an error message
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 74
Programming Example:
compareCode (continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 75

Programming Example:
compareCode (continued)

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 76

Programming Example: Main
Algorithm
• Declare variables
• Open the files
• Call readCode to read the secret code
• If (length of the secret code <= 250)
− Call compareCode to compare the
codes
else
− Output an appropriate error message

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 77

Summary

• Array: structured data type with a fixed

number of components of the same type
− Components are accessed using their relative
positions in the array
• Elements of a one-dimensional array are
arranged in the form of a list
• An array index can be any expression that
evaluates to a nonnegative integer
− Must always be less than the size of the array

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 78

Summary (continued)

• The base address of an array is the address

of the first array component
• When passing an array as an actual
parameter, you use only its name
− Passed by reference only
• A function cannot return a value of the type
array
• In C++, C-strings are null terminated and are
stored in character arrays
C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 79
Summary (continued)

• Commonly used C-string manipulation

functions include:
− strcpy, strcmp, and strlen
• Parallel arrays are used to hold related
information
• In a two-dimensional array, the elements are
arranged in a table form

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 80

Summary

• To access an element of a two-dimensional

array, you need a pair of indices:
− One for the row position
− One for the column position
• In row processing, a two-dimensional array is
processed one row at a time
• In column processing, a two-dimensional
array is processed one column at a time

C++ Programming: From Problem Analysis to Program Design, Fourth Edition 81