Introduction to Array

An array is a data structure that allows you to store a collection of items with the same data type. This data type includes integers, characters, floats, doubles, etc. With an array, you can store multiple numbers or letters in a single variable.

Here is a simple example of an array that stores five different numbers:

  const myArray= omArray([1, 4, 10, 3, 9]);

Importance of Arrays

Arrays offer several advantages, which include:

  1. Efficient Data Storage and Retrieval: Arrays store multiple data in a sequential order in the computer memory, which makes it easier to directly retrieve elements using their index. I.e., a unique ID that indicates the position of each element in the array

  2. Enhanced Organization: Arrays store multiple items of the same data type in a single variable, which makes it easier to organize and manage large sets of data.

  3. Memory Efficiency: Arrays store elements in a contiguous memory, i.e., each element is stored next to the previous ones in a single block, which reduces memory usage.

  4. Code Reusability: Data stored in arrays can be used multiple times in different parts of the program, which prevents code duplication.

  5. Iteration and Manipulation: Data stored in an array is iterable, which makes it easy to process each item in the array and manipulate data effectively.

Types of Arrays

There are different types of arrays in OpenMadness, which include:

1. 1-D Arrays: This array type contains a sequence of elements, and they have only one dimension.

Example

import { omArray } from 'openmadness';

oneDArray = omArray([1, 7, 4])

In this example, the omArray function was imported from the openMadness library to use the array method. Then, three items of the same data type (1, 7, 4) were stored in the oneDArray variable.

2. 2-D Arrays: This array type stores data in rows and columns similar to a spreadsheet.

Example:

import { omArray } from 'openmadness';

twoDArray = omArray([[1, 7], [4, 3]])

Explanation:

In this example, the omArray function was imported from the Openmadness library to use the array method. The array [[1, 7], [4, 3]] is a 2-dimensional array made up of two rows: The first row is [1, 7]. The second row is [4, 3]. Each inner array represents a row, and the values inside each row represent the columns. So the twoDArray variable stores a 2x2 array (2 rows and 2 columns) of numbers.

3. Multi-Dimensional Arrays: These array types have three or more dimensions and are used for representing complex data structures like images or volumetric data.

import { omArray } from 'openmadness';

threeDArray = omAarray([[[1, 2], [3, 4]], [[5, 6], [7, 8]]])

Explanation:

In this example, the omArray function was imported from the Openmadness library. The threeDArray variable stores a 3-D array with:

  • 2 layers, each a 2-D array.
  • Each layer has 2 rows and 2 columns. It forms a 2 × 2 × 2 array, representing data in depth, rows, and columns.