CS1101: Foundations of Programming

Multi-Dimensional Arrays

Dept. of Computer Science & Engineering

Indian Institute of Technology Patna

IIT Patna 1
 Two dimensional arrays
• We have seen one dimensional array that can store a list of values
• Many times we need to store values for tables / matrices
• For example, we need to store marks for each student for each assignment

Assignment 1 Assignment 2 Assignment 3 Assignment 4

Student 1 10 30 63 23
Student 2 15 32 43 34
Student 3 20 22 90 64
Student 4 40 12 88 79
Student 5 12 40 88 79
• C allows us to define such table of items by using two dimensional arrays.
• Each row can viewed as an array.
IIT Patna 2
 2-D array declaration
• General form: type array_name[row_size][col_size];
• Example:
int marks[5][4];
double val[10][100];
char str[20][100];
• First index denotes the row and the second denotes the column
• Both row and column index start from 0
• marks[i][j] indicates the (i+1)-th row and (j+1)-th column

IIT Patna 3
 2-D array declaration
• int x[5][4];
col-1 col-2 col-3 col-4
row-1 x[0][0] x[0][1] x[0][2] x[0][3]
row-2 x[1][0] x[1][1] x[1][2] x[1][3]
row-3 x[2][0] x[2][1] x[2][2] x[2][3]
row-4 x[3][0] x[3][1] x[3][2] x[3][3]
row-5 x[4][0] x[4][1] x[4][2] x[4][3]
• In memory, whole chunk will be contiguous memory

x[0][0] x[0][1] x[0][2] x[0][3] x[1][0] x[1][1] x[1][2] x[1][3] x[2][0] x[2][1] x[2][2] x[2][3]

IIT Patna 4
 Accessing elements of a 2-D array
• Similar to 1D array, now we need two indices
• 1st index denotes the row and the second index denotes the column
• Example:
x[i][j] = 5;
x[i][j] += a[i][k] * b[k][j];
val = a[i*3][z[m]] * b[k][j];

IIT Patna 5
 Memory for 2D array
• Starting from a given memory location, the elements are stored in row-wise in
consecutive memory locations
• x: starting address of the array in memory
• c: number of columns
• k: number of bytes allocated per element

IIT Patna 6
 Memory for 2D array
• Starting from a given memory location, the elements are stored in row-wise in
consecutive memory locations
• x: starting address of the array in memory
• c: number of columns
• k: number of bytes allocated per element
• x[i][j] is allocated memory location at address x+(i*c+j)*k

IIT Patna 6
 Array addresses 0x7ffcf5268ba0
int main(){ 0x7ffcf5268ba4
0x7ffcf5268ba8
int x[3][5], i, j;
0x7ffcf5268bac
for(i=0; i<3; i++){ 0x7ffcf5268bb0
for(j=0; j<5; j++)
printf("%p\n",&x[i][j]); 0x7ffcf5268bb4
printf("\n"); 0x7ffcf5268bb8
} 0x7ffcf5268bbc
0x7ffcf5268bc0
return 0;
0x7ffcf5268bc4
}
0x7ffcf5268bc8
0x7ffcf5268bcc
0x7ffcf5268bd0
0x7ffcf5268bd4
0x7ffcf5268bd8

IIT Patna 7
 Reading elements of 2D array
• Need to read one element at a time
for(i=0; i<row; i++)
for(j=0; j<col; j++)
scanf("%d",&x[i][j]);
• x[i][j] can be thought of as a single integer variable, hence & is necessary
• 2D array can be initialized at the time of declaration:
int x[MROWS][MCOLS] = {{1,2,3}, {4,5,6}, {7,8,9}};

IIT Patna 8
 Printing the elements of a 2D array
• Need to print one element at a time
• One way to print: All elements in one line
for(i=0; i<row; i++)
for(j=0; j<col; j++)
printf("%d ",x[i][j]);
• Another way to print: One row in each line
for(i=0; i<row; i++){
for(j=0; j<col; j++)
printf("%d ",x[i][j]);
printf("\n");
}

IIT Patna 9
 Matrix addition
int main(){
// z = x + y
int x[10][10], y[10][10], z[10][10];
for(i=0;i<n;i++)
int i, j, k, n, m;
for(j=0;i<m;j++)
printf("Enter the dimension: ");
z[i][j]=x[i][j]+y[i][j];
scanf("%d%d",&n,&m);
// print output
// Read x
for(i=0;i<n;i++){
for(i=0;i<n;i++)
for(j=0;i<m;j++)
for(j=0;j<m;j++)
printf("%d ",z[i][j]);
scanf("%d",&x[i][j]);
printf("\n");
// Read y
}
for(i=0;i<n;i++)
return 0;
for(j=0;i<m;j++)
}
scanf("%d",&y[i][j]);

IIT Patna 10
 2D array
int main(){
int x[3][4]={{1,2,3,4}, {5,6,7,8}, {9,10,11,12}}, i,j;
for(i=0;i<3;i++){
for(j=0;i<4;j++) printf("%p",&x[i][j]);
printf("\n");
}
printf("sizeof(x) = %3lu, x = %p, x+1 = %p\n", sizeof(x), x, x+1);
printf("sizeof(*x) = %3lu, *x = %p, *x+1 = %p\n", sizeof(*x), *x, *x+1);
printf("sizeof(&x) = %3lu, &x = %p, &x+1 = %p\n", sizeof(&x), &x, &x+1);
return 0;
}

IIT Patna 11
 2D array
int main(){
int x[3][4]={{1,2,3,4}, {5,6,7,8}, {9,10,11,12}}, i,j;
for(i=0;i<3;i++){
for(j=0;i<4;j++) printf("%p",&x[i][j]);
printf("\n");
}
printf("sizeof(x) = %3lu, x = %p, x+1 = %p\n", sizeof(x), x, x+1);
printf("sizeof(*x) = %3lu, *x = %p, *x+1 = %p\n", sizeof(*x), *x, *x+1);
printf("sizeof(&x) = %3lu, &x = %p, &x+1 = %p\n", sizeof(&x), &x, &x+1);
return 0; 0x7fff4e7502e0 0x7fff4e7502e4 0x7fff4e7502e8 0x7fff4e7502ec
} 0x7fff4e7502f0 0x7fff4e7502f4 0x7fff4e7502f8 0x7fff4e7502fc
0x7fff4e750300 0x7fff4e750304 0x7fff4e750308 0x7fff4e75030c
sizeof(x) = 48, x = 0x7fff4e7502e0, x+1 = 0x7fff4e7502f0
sizeof(*x) = 16, *x = 0x7fff4e7502e0, *x+1 = 0x7fff4e7502e4
sizeof(&x) = 8, &x = 0x7fff4e7502e0, &x+1 = 0x7fff4e750310

IIT Patna 11
 Passing 2D arrays to functions
• Similar to 1D array. The array contents are not copied into the function, rather
the address of the first element is passed
• For calculating the address of an element in a 2D array, the function needs the
following:
• The starting address of the array (say x)
• Number of bytes per element (say k)
• Number of of columns in the array (size of each row) (say c)
• x[i][j] is located at address x+(i*c+j)*k

IIT Patna 12
 Example: passing 2D array

int main(){ void add(int a[][15], int b[10][15], int r, int c){
int x[10][15], y[10][15]; .
.
.
.
. .
.
. .
add(x, y, 10, 15); }
.
.
.
return 0;
}

IIT Patna 13
 Example: passing 2D array

int main(){ void add(int a[][15], int b[10][15], int r, int c){
int x[10][15], y[10][15]; .
.
.
.
. .
.
. .
add(x, y, 10, 15); }
.
.
.
return 0;
}

The first dimension is ignored. The second dimension must be given.

IIT Patna 13
 Matrix addition with functions
void readMatrix(int x[][20], int r, int c){
int i, j;
for(i=0;i<r;i++)
for(j=0;j<c;j++)
scanf("%d",&x[i][j]);
}
void addMatrix(int x[][20], int y[][20], int z[][20], int r, int c){
int i, j;
for(i=0;i<r;i++)
for(j=0;j<c;j++)
z[i][j] = x[i][j] + y[i][j];
}

IIT Patna 14
 Matrix addition with functions
void printMatrix(int x[][20], int r, int c){ int main(){
int i, j; int x[10][20], y[10][20];
for(i=0;i<r;i++){ int z[10][20], r, c;
for(j=0;j<c;j++) scanf("%d%d",&r,&c);
printf("%4d ",x[i][j]); readMatrix(x, r, c);
printf("\n"); readMatrix(y, r, c);
} addMatrix(x, y, z, r, c);
} printMatrix(z, r, c);
return 0;
}

The number of columns has to be fixed in function definition.

There is no difference between —void add(int x[][20],…) or void add(int x[10][20],…)
Specifying the first dimension is not necessary, but not a mistake

IIT Patna 15
 Matrix transpose
void transpose(int x[][3], int n){ int main(){
int i, j, t; int x[3][3], i, j;
for(i=0; i<n; i++) for(i=0;i<3;i++)
for(j=0; j<n; j++){ for(j=0;j<3;j++)
t = x[i][j]; scanf("%d",&x[i][j]);
x[i][j] = x[j][i]; transpose(x, 3);
x[j][i] = t; for(i=0;i<3;i++)
} for(j=0;j<3;j++)
} printf("%d ",x[i][j]);
return 0;
}

IIT Patna 16
 Matrix transpose
void transpose(int x[][3], int n){ int main(){
int i, j, t; int x[3][3], i, j;
for(i=0; i<n; i++) for(i=0;i<3;i++)
for(j=0; j<n; j++){ for(j=0;j<3;j++)
t = x[i][j]; scanf("%d",&x[i][j]);
x[i][j] = x[j][i]; transpose(x, 3);
x[j][i] = t; for(i=0;i<3;i++)
} for(j=0;j<3;j++)
} printf("%d ",x[i][j]);
return 0;
}

This is wrong!!!

IIT Patna 16
 Matrix transpose: correct version
void transpose(int x[][3], int n){
int i, j, t;
for(i=0; i<n; i++)    
for(j=i; j<n; j++){ 1 2 3 1 4 7
   
t = x[i][j];  4 5 6 ⇒ 2 5 8 
x[i][j] = x[j][i]; 7 8 9 3 6 9
x[j][i] = t;
}
}

IIT Patna 17
 Dynamic allocation of 2D array
• We have seen dynamic memory allocation for 1D array using malloc library
function
int *ptr = (int *)malloc(10 * sizeof(int));
• There are many variations
• Fixed number of rows but variable number of columns
• Variable number of rows but fixed number of columns
• Both number of rows and columns variable
• We will consider the first one — fixed number of rows but variable number of
columns

IIT Patna 18
 Dynamic allocation: Fixed rows, variable columns
• Let us assume that the number of rows are 5
• We can use array of pointers of size 5, where the i-th element if this array a
pointer will point to the i-th row of the 2D array
int *r[5], i, c;
for(i=0; i<5; i++){
scanf("%d",&c);
r[i] = (int *)malloc(c * sizeof(int));
}
r[0]
Statically allocated Dynamically allocated
r[1]
pointer array memory
r[2]

IIT Patna 19
 Pointer equivalent to 2D array
• Consider a statically allocated 1D array: int x[10];
• A pointer that can browse through x is declared as int *p;
• Such pointer can be allocated p = (int*)malloc(10*sizeof(int));
and deallocated free(p);
• What are the analogous pointer for 2D arrays? How can these pointer be allo-
cated and deallocated?

IIT Patna 20
 Pointer equivalent to 2D array
• Two of the ways to define 2D arrays: int x[3][4]; or int *y[3];
• Both these arrays are statically allocated
• x is an array of arrays and has no dynamic component
• y is an array of pointers. Individual pointer y[] can be allocated dynamically
• Statically allocated arrays have following limitations
• Waste of space
• Unable to handle larger arrays than the allocated space
• Dynamic version x and y can remove these shortcomings

IIT Patna 21
 Dynamic version of 2D array - 1
• Consider int x[3][4];
• A pointer matching x should be pointer to an array with 4 int variables
• int *p[4]; — declares an array of 4 pointers, not a pointer to array
• Possible ways for defining correct pointer equivalent to x are
• Method-1: int (*p)[4];
• Method-2: typedef int row[4]; row *p;
• p is a single pointer

IIT Patna 22
 Dynamic version of 2D array - 2
• Consider int *y[4]; — y is an array of 4 int pointer
• The equivalent pointer is a pointer to an int pointer — int **q;
• A 2D array declared by q is fully dynamic
• The number of rows can be decided during the run of the program
• The size of each row can also be decided individually during the run
• Note: It will be illegal to set q = x or p = y. May lead to segmentation fault.
(int x[3][4]; int (*p)[4];)

IIT Patna 23
 Dynamic memory for p
• p is single pointer and can be allocated in a single shot (int (*p)[4];)
• Method-1: p = (int (*)[4])malloc(3 * 4 * sizeof(int));
• Method-2: p = (row *)malloc(3 * sizeof(row));
• Freeing requires only one call free(p);

IIT Patna 24
 Dynamic memory for q
• First we need to allocate required number of row headers then the rows indi-
vidually
q = (int **)malloc(3 * sizeof(int *));
for(i=0; i<3; i++)
q[i] = (int *)malloc(4 * sizeof(int));
• Freeing is also multi-step process (individual row needs to be freed first)
for(i=0; i<3; i++) free(q[i]);
free(q);

IIT Patna 25
 Example: 2D Matrix allocation
int **allocate (int h, int w){ int main(){
int **p, i, j; int **p, M, N, i, j;
p = (int **)malloc(h*sizeof (int *)); printf ("Give M and N \n");
for (i=0; i<h; i++) scanf ("%d%d", &M, &N);
printf("%10d", &p[i]); p = allocate (M, N);
printf("\n"); for (i=0;i<M;i++){
for (i=0;i<h;i++) for (j=0;j<N;j++)
p[i] = (int *)malloc(w*sizeof(int)); printf ("%10d", &p[i][j]);
return(p); printf("\n");
} }
return 0;
}

IIT Patna 26
 Four types of 2D arrays

Declaration Number of rows Number of columns

int a[5][10]; static static
int (*b)[10]; dynamic static
int *c[5]; static dynamic
int **c; dynamic dynamic

IIT Patna 27
 Practice problems
• Write a function that takes n×n square matrix as input (n < 100) and returns 1 if the matrix is a lower triangular
one.
• Repeat above for upper triangular matrix, diagonal matrix, identity matrix, anti-symmetric matrix
• Consider a n × n matrix filled with 0 or 1. Write a function that takes such a matrix as input and returns 1 if the
number of 1’s in each row and each column are the same. It returns 0 otherwise.
• Write a function that takes two matrices as input and compute the product of two matrices and store it in a third
matrix. The size of the input matrices are n × m and m × p
• write a function that transpose a non-square matrix A in a matrix B

IIT Patna 28