Deconstructing an Array

As stated earlier, an array is a data type that can hold multiple pieces of information. Here's an easy way to imagine this: A variable is like a chair, and it can hold one person (one piece of data). On the other hand, an array is more like a bench, it can hold multiple people (multiple pieces of data).

Each piece of data in an array is called an element. Each element is automatically assigned the name of the array and a unique number called its index, which is enclosed in brackets. However, the first element in an array is not assigned the number 1; it is instead assigned the number 0 because arrays are zero-indexed meaning that they start counting at zero instead of one.

Therefore, the first element in the array my_array is labeled my_array[0]. Likewise, for the seventh element in the same array, you would use my_array[6].

This indexing is great for holding and retrieving sequential information.

The number of elements in an array is known as its length, and we will cover this topic in greater detail later in the chapter when the properties of an array are discussed.