Multidimensional Arrays in C++

Multidimensional arrays are also known as array of arrays. The data in multidimensional array is stored in a tabular form as shown in the diagram below:

A two dimensional array:

int arr[2][3];

This array has total 2*3 = 6 elements.

int arr[2][2][2];

This array has total 2*2*2 = 8 elements.

Two dimensional array

Lets see how to declare, initialize and access Two Dimensional Array elements.

How to declare a two dimensional array?

int myarray[2][3];

Initialization:

We can initialize the array in many ways:

Method 1:

int arr[2][3] = {10, 11 ,12 ,20 ,21 , 22};

Method 2

This way of initializing is preferred as you can visualize the rows and columns here.

int arr[2][3] = {{10, 11 ,12} , {20 ,21 , 22}};

arr[0][0] - first element
arr[0][1] - second element
arr[0][2] - third element
arr[1][0] - fourth element
arr[1][1] - fifth element
arr[1][2] - sixth element

Example: Two dimensional array in C++

#include <iostream>  
using namespace std;    
int main(){     
int arr[2][3] = {{11, 22, 33}, {44, 55, 66}};     
for(int i=0; i<2;i++){        
for(int j=0; j<3; j++){          
cout<<"arr["<<i<<"]["<<j<<"]: "<<arr[i][j]<<endl;        
}     
}     
return 0;  
}

Output

arr[0][0]: 11  
arr[0][1]: 22  
arr[0][2]: 33  
arr[1][0]: 44  
arr[1][1]: 55  
arr[1][2]: 66

Three dimensional array

Lets see how to declare, initialize and access Three Dimensional Array elements.

Declaring a three dimensional array:

int myarray[2][3][2];

Initialization:

We can initialize the array in many ways:

Method 1:

int arr[2][3][2] = {1, -1 ,2 ,-2 , 3 , -3, 4, -4, 5, -5, 6, -6};

Method 2

This way of initializing is preferred as you can visualize the rows and columns here.

int arr[2][3][2] = {       
{ {1,-1}, {2, -2}, {3, -3}},       
{ {4, -4}, {5, -5}, {6, -6}}  
}

Three dimensional array example

#include <iostream>  
using namespace std;    
int main(){     
// initializing the array     
int arr[2][3][2] = {{ {1,-1}, {2,-2}, {3,-3} },
{ {4,-4}, {5,-5}, {6,-6} }};     
// displaying array values      
for (int x = 0; x < 2; x++) {       
for (int y = 0; y < 3; y++) {         
for (int z = 0; z < 2; z++) {           
cout<<arr[x][y][z]<<" ";         
} } }     
return 0;  
}

Output

1 -1 2 -2 3 -3 4 -4 5 -5 6 -6