Size of an array

When an array is declared a fixed value is usually defined, such as this line of code that declares an array named speed, giving it a size of 5.

speed as integer [ 5 ]

The speed array might contain data storing how fast 5 cars should be moving, each of which might be moving at a different rate. Later on in your game you might decide to have more or fewer cars in a particular level. You could just declare speed as having many elements e.g. 500 but this would be a waste of resources. Ideally you only want to have memory reserved for the actual data your program needs. If one level needs to store the speed for 5 cars then the array should have a size of 5. If the next level uses 10 cars then the array should have a size of 10. By working like this your program will be more efficient, as are you only using resources that your program requires.

Controlling the size of an array is handled by using the keyword length as demonstrated in this program.

speed as integer [ 5 ]


for i = 1 to 5
	speed [ i ] = i
next i


speed.length = 10


do
	for i = 1 to speed.length
		print ( speed [ i ] )
	next i
	

	sync ( )
loop

This program begins by having an array with 5 elements. The for loop gives each element a value from 1 to 5. The next line resizes the array.

speed.length = 10

After this line has been called our array will have a size of 10 instead of 5, although it will still retain the data that was previously set.

The for loop within the program also makes use of the length keyword, allowing us to cycle through all elements of the array to print its contents. The first 5 parts of the array will show 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, whilst the remainder will display 0 as no other value has been set for it.

The next program shows how an array can be made smaller.

speed as integer [ 10 ]


for i = 1 to 10
	speed [ i ] = i
next i


speed.length = 5


do
	for i = 1 to speed.length
		print ( speed [ i ] )
	next i
	

	sync ( )
loop

An array can be resized at any point within your program, giving you the flexibility to ensure only the data you need is used.