Composite Data Type

Composite data types are a combination of primitives and other data types. They include arrays, lists, and collections.

Your key takeaways are:

• Composite data types include arrays, lists, and collections
• Combination of primitives and other data types
• Arrays
  • ordered arrangement of data
  • each element
    • keyed – implied or declared
    • value held in the element can be any data type

Study Notes

What is a Composite Data Type?

• Combination of the primitives and other composite types
• It’s a composition of different types

Examples of Composite Data Types

• Array
• Collection

What is an Array?

An array is an ordered arrangement of data.

“Ordered arrangement of data”

Ordered	Arrangement	of Data
Ordered means there is a KEY or an INDEX that can identify each arrangement	Arrangement is a method of ORGANIZING	Data is a REPRESENTATION of information

How can we relate Post Office Boxes to arrays?

• each has a unique number (key) to identify it
• the boxes are arranged by number and size
• they are different sizes, so when you need to handle more information (data), you just get a bigger box

Anatomy of an Array

• Key – implied or declared
• Associative Array (vs. Indexed Array)
• Element
• {level}-dimensional (e.g. 1st-dimensional, multi-dimensional)

What patterns do you see?

Indexed Array

• No keys are declared
• Just data
• Different types of data

Associative Array

• Array of arrays
• 1st dimension are not keyed
• 2nd dimension is keyed

How do I access the data in the array? Review the video if you are struggling with this as it goes into great detail.