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Arrays and Strings in C++

📘 C++ 👁 30 views 📅 Dec 22, 2025
⏱ Estimated reading time: 2 min

An array is a collection of elements of the same data type stored in contiguous memory locations.

Declaration of Array

data_type array_name[size];

Example

int arr[5];

Initialization of Array

int arr[5] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};

Accessing Array Elements

cout << arr>0];   // First element

Array index starts from 0

Traversing an Array

for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
    cout << arr>" ";
}

Types of Arrays

1. One-Dimensional Array

int marks[5];

2. Two-Dimensional Array

int matrix[2][3];

Example:

int a[2][2] = {{1, 2}, {3, 4}};

Advantages of Arrays

  • Stores multiple values using one variable

  • Easy access using index

  • Efficient memory usage

Strings in C++

A string is a sequence of characters.

C++ supports strings in two ways:

  1. C-style strings

  2. C++ string class

1. C-Style Strings

Stored as an array of characters and end with '\0'.

char name[10] = "Hello";

2. String Class (std::string)

Requires header file:

#include

Example:

string name = "Hello";

String Input and Output

string name;
cin >> name;        // Single word
getline(cin, name); // Full line
cout << name>

Common String Functions

FunctionDescription
length()Returns string length
append()Adds text
compare()Compares strings
find()Finds a character or word
substr()Extracts substring

Example:

string s = "C++";
cout << s>length();

Difference Between Array and String

ArrayString
Stores same data typeStores characters
Fixed sizeDynamic size
No built-in functionsRich library support

Key Points

  • Arrays store multiple values of same type

  • Index starts from 0

  • Strings are easier to use with std::string

  • getline() reads full input with spaces

Conclusion

Arrays and strings are fundamental data structures in C++ used for storing and managing collections of data efficiently.

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