Arrays
An array stores multiple values of the same type in one contiguous block of memory, accessed using an index starting at 0.
The size of a C array is fixed once it's declared — it can't grow or shrink at runtime.
💡 Key insight
C does not check array bounds for you — reading or writing outside an array's size is undefined behavior, not a safe error.
Syntax
syntax
type arrayName[size];
type arrayName[size] = {value1, value2, ...};Example
scores[0] is the first element, and scores[4] is the last of this 5-element array.
c
#include <stdio.h>
int main() {
int scores[5] = {90, 85, 70, 60, 95};
for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
printf("%d ", scores[i]);
}
printf("\n");
return 0;
}output90 85 70 60 95
Try it yourself
Copy this example into the C compiler and run it — try changing a value and see what happens.