Programming with C: Two-Dimensional Arrays

Name: Programming with C: Two-Dimensional Arrays
Author: Mike McMillan

Learn how to store tabular data in C using two-dimensional arrays.

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Course: On-Demand

Hi, this is Mike McMillan and welcome back to this course on intermediate C programming. In this video, I'm going to show you how to declare a two-dimensional array. In a two-dimensional array, you're storing data as a table with rows and columns. So here's an example. Here we have three students grades over a semester. The first student made an 88, a 78, and a 99. The second student made a 91, an 82, and a 100 and the third student made a 77, an 81, and an 88. So the way we're gonna create this two-dimensional array is we have to tell the compiler the name of the array and how many rows and columns. So we do it like so. Three rows, three columns. And that's really all you have to do. If we had a fourth student, we would change a number of rows from three to four, four rows, three columns. And we'll leave it like that. And that's all you have to do to declare the array. But I prefer to not use hard quoted or literal numbers in these declarations, but to use constants. So here's what we're gonna do. And then we'll replace four and three with the constant. And that's all you have to do. So now we are ready to work with this array because we've declared it and the compiler knows that we're going to have four rows. Student one, student two, student three, student four. And three columns. Test one, test two, test three. Although understand that just like with one dimensional arrays, the first row and the first column are always numbered zero. So if we were going through the table and demonstrating which number is in which row, the first element is in zero, zero, the second element is in zero, one and the third element is in zero, two. On the second row, we have 1,0, 1,1 and 1,2. On the third row we have 2,0, 2,1, and 2,2. And then on the fourth row we have 3,0, 3,1, and 3,2. But to summarize, to declare a two-dimensional array, you write out the data type, the name of the array, the number of rows, and the number of columns. And that's how you do it. So thanks very much for watching this video on declaring two-dimensional arrays.

Intermediate Provider : Mike McMillan 4 Lessons · 11m in Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Chinese

Course Description

In these lessons, we’ll discuss how to create and use two-dimensional arrays in C. Two-dimensional arrays store data in tabular form, meaning in rows and columns like an Excel spreadsheet.

We’ll begin by discussing how to declare two-dimensional arrays in C. Then we’ll cover how to initialize two-dimensional arrays using the same technique you use to initialize one-dimensional arrays, but this time creating a list of lists. We’ll then discusses how to access and store data in two-dimensional arrays, concluding with some examples of how to perform row-wise and column-wise computations.

What You'll Learn

Declare two-dimensional arrays in C and identify the types of data they store
Initialize a two-dimensional array with rows and columns of data as a list of lists
Access and store data in a two-dimensional array using row and column references
Perform row-wise and column-wise computations on two-dimensional arrays
Work with jagged arrays in C

Key Takeaways

Two-dimensional arrays in C store data in tabular form, organized in rows and columns like an Excel spreadsheet.
Two-dimensional arrays are initialized using the same technique as one-dimensional arrays, but by creating a list of lists.
Data in a two-dimensional array is accessed and stored using row and column references.
Two-dimensional arrays can be accessed to perform both row-wise and column-wise computations.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does this course cover?

The course covers how to create and use two-dimensional arrays in C, including declaring them, initializing them with rows and columns of data, accessing and storing data using row and column references, and performing row-wise and column-wise computations.

What are two-dimensional arrays in C?

Two-dimensional arrays store data in tabular form, meaning in rows and columns like an Excel spreadsheet.

What lessons are included in this course?

The course includes four lessons: Declaring Two-Dimensional Arrays; Declaring and Initializing Two-Dimensional Arrays; Working with Two-Dimensional Arrays; and Working with Jagged Arrays.

What skills does this course build?

This course builds skills in C (programming language), C data types, C-based programming languages, data structures, multidimensional arrays, and working with tabular data.

How are two-dimensional arrays initialized in C?

They are initialized using the same technique used for one-dimensional arrays, but by creating a list of lists.