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Java

Posted by Drew Bentrott
Drew Bentrott
2,418 Points

Syntax of Array Construction (in Java)

If I have a class called 'Dogs', and I would like to make an array object within this class with 7 elements ...

Dogs[] breeds = new Dogs[7];

Okay, so, why does the class need to have the '[]' directly after it? Isn't that overkill? I feel like it would make sense like this: Dogs breeds = new Dogs[]; ...

I'm super curious about this. What is the point of this redundancy? Can anyone explain this to me in a way other than "that's just how it is"?

1 Answer

Seth Kroger
Seth Kroger
56,416 Points

It's because Java is very strict about types and an array is a different type that a single object. So a "Dogs" is a single Dogs object and a "Dogs[]" is an array of Dogs objects.

Drew Bentrott
Drew Bentrott
2,418 Points

So, it's kind of like the difference between 'int' and 'int[]', ... except I am using the class name as a type to say that 'breeds' is of the type 'Dogs[]' (an array of Dogs objects). I think that I am getting it, actually. Here's to thanking you for your help, Seth!