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Java

Posted by Gendarme Docena
Gendarme Docena
1,509 Points

Why does fruit[2] = "watermelon" and fruit[3] = "banana"?

At about 9:20 of the video I thought the concept would be fruit[3] = "watermelon" and fruit[4] = "banana" because in the end, there are 4 fruits "apple", "cherry", "watermelon", and "banana". Is it because apple and cherry are set as one string?

I keep repeating the video but I'm still unsure. Reading an explanation will help!

1 Answer

andren
andren
28,558 Points

In Java (and most other languages) list indexes are 0 based, meaning that they start at 0, not at 1.

This means that the first item has an index of 0, the second an index of 1, the third an index of 2, and so on. That is why watermelon and banana are one number below where you might expect them to be.

This might seem strange and a bit hard to wrap your head around at first, but 0 based indexes are so common in programming that you will get plenty of practice using them, and they will likely start to become second nature to you soon enough.

Gendarme Docena
Gendarme Docena
1,509 Points

Oh yeah! I totally forgot it starts at 0. Okay I got it down now. Thank you again!