Working with Partially Filled Arrays

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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.

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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

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The filled values in the partially filled array start at the first element, and additional filled elements come immediately after the previously filled element. However, the array is not completely full.

2. Non-Linear Contiguous Block

The filled values in the partially filled array look very similar to the linear contiguous block, except that the contiguous block of filled array values does not start at the first element. However, the values still form a solid block of values in the array.

3. Non-Contiguous Block

The filled values in the partially filled array can be in any location, and there is no guarantee of when an array value will be filled.

Keeping Track of Array Elements

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Checking for Empty Array Values

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