What is Array | Print Elements in Array (Traversing)

What is an array?

Array is a collection of multiple elements. It is one of the derived data types in C programming.

Characteristics of array:

• Elements (aka items) in the array are stored in a contiguous memory location.
• Each element in the array has an index that is used to access that element.
• The index of the first element in the array is 0, the index of the second element is 2, and so on.

Array in C/C++

Array in C/C++ programming can store only homogenous items i.e. items having same data types.

Syntax:

<data_type> <array_name>[<array_size>];

Array of integers

int int_arr[10];

Array of characters

char char_arr[10];

Here 10 is the size of the array. It means, it can store 10 items.

Initialing array:

Example: Initialize an integer array to store integer values from 1 to 10.

int arr[10] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10};

Array Example

You can use online CSEstack IDE to execute the code shared in this tutorial.

How to print specific element in array?

Example: Print the 3rd element in the array. The index of the 3rd element is 2 as index of the array starts with zero.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int arr[10] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10};

    printf("%d ", arr[2]);

    return 0;
}

Output:

3

Traversing Array

We can use any looping statement in C/C++ like do, do-while or for loop statement to print the array.

How to print array in C/C++ program using for loop? [Traversing Array]

Here is the simple code to traverse the elements in the array and print them using a for loop.

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int arr[10] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10};
    int i;

    for(i = 0; i < 10; i++) {
        printf("%d ", arr[i]);
    }

    return 0;
}

Output:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How to print array in C/C++ program using while loop?

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int arr[10] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10};
    int i=0;

    while(i<10) {
        printf("%d ", arr[i]);
        i++;
    }

    return 0;
}

Output:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

How to print array in C/C++ program using do-while?

#include <stdio.h>

int main() {
    int arr[10] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10};
    int i=0;

    do {
        printf("%d ", arr[i]);
        i++;
    } while(i<10);

    return 0;
}

Output:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Any doubt? Write in the comment below.

Aniruddha Chaudhari

I am a Python enthusiast who loves Linux and Vim. I hold a Master of Computer Science degree from NIT Trichy and have 10 years of experience in the IT industry, focusing on the Software Development Lifecycle from Requirements Gathering, Design, Development to Deployment. I have worked at IBM, Ericsson, and NetApp, and I share my knowledge on CSEstack.org.