[c#] How can I declare a two dimensional string array?

string[][] Tablero = new string[3][3];

I need to have a 3x3 array arrangement to save information to. How do I declare this in C#?

try this :

string[,] myArray = new string[3,3];

have a look on http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/2yd9wwz4.aspx

I assume you're looking for this:

        string[,] Tablero = new string[3,3];

The syntax for a jagged array is:

        string[][] Tablero = new string[3][];
        for (int ix = 0; ix < 3; ++ix) {
            Tablero[ix] = new string[3];
        }

string[,] Tablero = new string[3,3];

A 3x3 (multidimensional) array can also be initialized (you have already declared it) like this:

string[,] Tablero =  {
                        { "a", "b", "c" },
                        { "d", "e", "f" }, 
                        { "g", "h", "i"} 
                     };

you can also write the code below.

Array lbl_array = Array.CreateInstance(typeof(string), i, j);

where 'i' is the number of rows and 'j' is the number of columns. using the 'typeof(..)' method you can choose the type of your array i.e. int, string, double

You just declared a jagged array. Such kind of arrays can have different sizes for all dimensions. For example:

string[][] jaggedStrings =  {
new string[] {"x","y","z"},
new string[] {"x","y"},
new string[] {"x"}
};

In your case you need regular array. See answers above. More about jagged arrays

When you are trying to create a multi-dimensional array all you need to do is add a comma to the declaration like so:

string[,] tablero = new string[3,3].

string[][] is not a two-dimensional array, it's an array of arrays (a jagged array). That's something different.

To declare a two-dimensional array, use this syntax:

string[,] tablero = new string[3, 3];

If you really want a jagged array, you need to initialize it like this:

string[][] tablero = new string[][] { new string[3], 
                                      new string[3], 
                                      new string[3] };

You probably want this:

string[,] Tablero = new string[3,3];

This will create you a matrix-like array where all rows have the same length.

The array in your sample is a so-called jagged array, i.e. an array of arrays where the elements can be of different size. A jagged array would have to be created in a different way:

string[][] Tablero = new string[3][];
for (int i = 0; i < Tablero.GetLength(0); i++)
{
    Tablero[i] = new string[3];
}

You can also use initializers to fill the array elements with data:

string[,] Tablero = new string[,]
{
    {"1.1","1.2", "1.3"},
    {"2.1","2.2", "2.3"},
    {"3.1", "3.2", "3.3"}
};

And in case of a jagged array:

string[][] Tablero = new string[][]
{
    new string[] {"1.1","1.2", "1.3"},
    new string[] {"2.1","2.2", "2.3"},
    new string[] {"3.1", "3.2", "3.3"}
};

There are 2 types of multidimensional arrays in C#, called Multidimensional and Jagged.

For multidimensional you can by:

string[,] multi = new string[3, 3];

For jagged array you have to write a bit more code:

string[][] jagged = new string[3][];
            for (int i = 0; i < jagged.Length; i++)
            {
                jagged[i] = new string[3];
            }

In short jagged array is both faster and has intuitive syntax. For more information see: this Stackoverflow question

There are many examples on working with arrays in C# here.

I hope this helps.

Thanks, Damian