Re: Array initialisation

From:
Patricia Shanahan <pats@acm.org>
Newsgroups:
comp.lang.java.programmer
Date:
Thu, 29 Nov 2007 10:23:21 -0800
Message-ID:
<fin03f$20jt$1@ihnp4.ucsd.edu>
Daniel Pitts wrote:

Jason Cavett wrote:

On Nov 29, 2:16 am, "Ouabaine" <ouaba...@orange.fr> wrote:

Hello,

When you create an array of numbers, like int array[]=new int[1000];
what is
the initial value of the array? Are all the members set to zero, or
is it
undetermined?

Thanks


Just as an aside, Java provides a Collections framework which has
extensive support for array-type work but is generally faster/easier
to use/etc. It's not always right or feasible to use Collections, but
I just wanted to point them out in case you are learning Java and
didn't know about them.

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/collections/index.html


A further aside.
While "it's not always right or feasible to use Collections" should be
phrased "In a few very specific circumstances you would choose Arrays of
Collections".

Using arrays in preference to collections is a form a primitive obsession.

<http://virtualinfinity.net/wordpress/program-design/2007/10/28/primitive-obsession/>

If you have a performance critical application *and a profiler tells you
that using collections is a bottleneck*, then you should *consider*
using arrays. Even before considering arrays, consider alternative
implementations of the Collection types your using (LinkedList Vs
ArrayList, HashSet vs TreeSet, etc...).


I often choose arrays in preference to collections because of the better
notation for accessing and changing elements. Much more to do with code
clarity than with performance.

Patricia

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