This reference is for Processing 2.0+. If you have a previous version, use the reference included with your software. If you see any errors or have suggestions, please let us know. If you prefer a more technical reference, visit the Processing Javadoc.

Name | ### Array
Examples |
    int[] numbers = new int[3];
    numbers[0] = 90;  // Assign value to first element in the array
    numbers[1] = 150; // Assign value to second element in the array
    numbers[2] = 30;  // Assign value to third element in the array
    int a = numbers[0] + numbers[1]; // Sets variable 'a' to 240
    int b = numbers[1] + numbers[2]; // Sets variable 'b' to 180
    int[] numbers = { 90, 150, 30 };  // Alternate syntax
    int a = numbers[0] + numbers[1];  // Sets variable 'a' to 240
    int b = numbers[1] + numbers[2];  // Sets variable 'b' to 180
    int degrees = 360;
    float[] cos_vals = new float[degrees];
    // Use a for() loop to quickly iterate
    // through all values in an array.
    for (int i=0; i < degrees; i++) {
      cos_vals[i] = cos(TWO_PI/degrees * i);
    }
Description | An array is a list of data. It is possible to have an array of any type of data. Each piece of data in an array is identified by an index number representing its position in the array. The first element in the array is [0], the second element is [1], and so on. Arrays are similar to objects, so they must be created with the keyword new. Each array has a variable length, which is an integer value for the total number of elements in the array. Note that since index numbering begins at zero (not 1), the last value in an array with a length of 5 should be referenced as array[4] (that is, the length minus 1), not array[5], which would trigger an error. Another common source of confusion is the difference between using length to get the size of an array and length() to get the size of a String. Notice the presence of parentheses when working with Strings. (array.length is a variable, while String.length() is a method specific to the String class.)
Syntax |
    datatype[] var
    var[element] = value
    var.length
Parameters |
datatype | any primitive or compound datatype, including user-defined classes
var | any valid variable name
element | int: must not exceed the length of the array minus 1
value | data to assign to the array element; must be the same datatype as the array

Updated on May 19, 2014 05:30:05pm PDT