programming-for-dummies

314
Using an Array
Using an Array
The problem with a single variable is that it can hold only a single chunk of
data. So if you wanted to store a name, you could create a variable, such as
Dim Name as String
If you wanted to store a second name, you’d have to create a second variable,
such as
Dim Name as String
Dim Name2 as String
The more names you want to store, the more separate variables you need to
create. Because creating separate variables to store similar types of information
can get tedious, computer scientists have created a “super” variable —
an array. Unlike an ordinary variable that can hold only one chunk of data,
an array can hold multiple chunks of data.
To create an array, you need to define these three items:
✦ A variable name
✦ The number of items you want to store (the array size)
✦ The type of data to store (such as integers or strings)
So if you wanted to store 15 names in a variable, you could create a name
array, such as
Dim NameArray(15) as String
The preceding code tells the computer to create a NameArray array, which
can hold up to 15 strings, as shown in Figure 1-2.
Figure 1-2:
An array
can hold
multiple
chunks of
data.
John Doe Gary Wilkins Holly Creamer Bobby Jones
Defining the size
An array acts like a bunch of buckets (dubbed elements) that can hold
exactly one item. When you create an array, you must first define the size of