Data Types and Arrays in C#

What are Data Types in C#?

In C#, data types define the type of data that a variable can hold. Each variable must have a defined type, such as an integer, float, or string, which determines what kind of operations can be performed on it.

There are two main categories of data types in C#: Value types and Reference types.

Data Type Ranges

The following table shows the minimum and maximum ranges of some common value types in C#:

Different Types of Data Types

The following table lists the various data types in C#:

Arrays in C#

An array is a collection of elements that are of the same type. In C#, arrays are zero-indexed, meaning the first element is at index 0. Arrays can be single-dimensional, multi-dimensional, or jagged (arrays of arrays).

Example of a Single-Dimensional Array:

int[] numbers = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 };

for (int i = 0; i < numbers.Length; i++)
{
    Console.WriteLine(numbers[i]);
}
        

Multi-Dimensional Arrays:

C# supports multi-dimensional arrays, where each element is accessed using multiple indices. The most common multi-dimensional array is the two-dimensional array, often represented as a matrix.

Example of a Two-Dimensional Array:

int[,] matrix = new int[3, 3]
{
    { 1, 2, 3 },
    { 4, 5, 6 },
    { 7, 8, 9 }
};

for (int i = 0; i < matrix.GetLength(0); i++)
{
    for (int j = 0; j < matrix.GetLength(1); j++)
    {
        Console.Write(matrix[i, j] + " ");
    }
    Console.WriteLine();
}