Multidimensional Arrays
Arrays can have more than one dimension. For example, the following declaration creates a two-dimensional array of four rows and two columns:
int[,] myArray = new int[4,2];
Also, the following declaration creates an array of three dimensions, 4, 2, and 3:
int[,,] myArray = new int [4,2,3];
Array Initialization
You can initialize the array upon declaration as shown in the following example:
int[,] myArray = new int[,] {{1,2}, {3,4}, {5,6}, {7,8}};
You can also initialize the array without specifying the rank:
int[,] myArray = {{1,2}, {3,4}, {5,6}, {7,8}};
If you choose to declare an array variable without initialization, you must use the new operator to assign an array to the variable. For example:
int[,] myArray;
myArray = new int[,] {{1,2}, {3,4}, {5,6}, {7,8}}; // OK
myArray = {{1,2}, {3,4}, {5,6}, {7,8}}; // Error
You can also assign a value to an array element, for example:
myArray[2,1] = 25;
Passing Arrays as Parameters
You can pass an initialized array to a method. For example:
PrintArray(myArray);
You can also initialize and pass a new array in one step. For example:
PrintArray(new int[,] {{1,2}, {3,4}, {5,6}, {7,8}});
Example
In this example, a two-dimensional array is initialized and passed to the PrintArray method, where its elements are displayed.
// cs_td_arrays.cs
using System;
public class ArrayClass
{
static void PrintArray(int[,] w)
{
// Display the array elements:
for (int i=0; i < 4; i++)
for (int j=0; j < 2; j++)
Console.WriteLine("Element({0},{1})={2}", i, j, w[i,j]);
}
public static void Main()
{
// Pass the array as a parameter:
PrintArray(new int[,] {{1,2}, {3,4}, {5,6}, {7,8}});
}
}
Output
Element(0,0)=1 Element(0,1)=2 Element(1,0)=3 Element(1,1)=4 Element(2,0)=5 Element(2,1)=6 Element(3,0)=7 Element(3,1)=8
