Working with Partially Filled Arrays

COMP 1010 Home > More With Arrays > Working with Partially Filled Arrays

Introduction When working with arrays, you will come across situations where some values in an array do not have data. These arrays are said to be 'partially filled'. This section will show you why partially filled arrays occur, types of partially filled arrays, and how to handle partially filled arrays.

{{{Body}}}

Why Partially Filled Arrays Occur

Partially filled arrays occur because once an array size it set, the size of the array cannot be changed. Therefore, we generally pick an array size that is large enough to hold the potential number of values that need to be stored.

For example, if the average number of values that need to be stored is 20, but you could potentially have 40, then you need to make an array of size 40. However, this means that on average, half of the array will be empty.

Types of Partially Filled Arrays

There are 3 types of partially filled arrays:

1. Linear Contiguous Block:

2. Non-Linear Contiguous Block:

3. Non-Contiguous Block

Keeping Track of Array Elements

code before the wicked box thang!

this pre tag is cool because it gives you a wicked box thing YOWZA~

more text after the wicked boxenz

Checking for Empty Array Values

wahooo!