Okuzeka
Software Engineering vocabulary · Data Structures and Algorithms

Array

Meaning in software engineering, with examples

/əˈreɪ/nounCommon term

In software engineering, array means: An ordered collection of items stored one after another, where each item can be reached by its position number, called an index.

In Turkish: dizi

How it is used

You create, loop through, sort, filter and index into arrays. Indexes usually start at 0. JavaScript developers say 'array'; in Python the everyday equivalent is a 'list'.

Example sentences

  1. The API returns an array of objects, one for each product.

  2. Remember that arrays start at index 0, so the last item is at length minus one.

Common collocations

  • empty array
  • array of objects
  • loop through an array
  • array index
  • sort an array
  • data structureA way of organizing data in memory, such as an array, list, tree or hash map, so that certain operations are fast and simple.
  • loopA piece of code that repeats the same steps several times, for example once for every item in a list or until a condition becomes false.
  • iterateTo go through the items of a collection one by one, or more generally to repeat a process and improve the result each time.
  • hash mapA data structure that stores key-value pairs and finds the value for a given key very quickly, usually in constant time.
  • JSONShort for JavaScript Object Notation: a simple text format for data, made of key-value pairs and lists, used by most web APIs.

More terms: Data Structures and Algorithms

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: