Declaring a jagged array in C#

Question

I have a data in a following format:

{{{0}},{{1}},{{2,3}},{{1,2},{3,4}},{{5,6},{7,8},{9,10}},.... Is there any way of storing this in a jagged array? The data is large, and I would like to include it directly in the code. I searched internet and it says I can declare it in a following way:

{ new int[][] { new int[] {0} }, new int[][] { new int[] {1} }, 
    new int[][] { new int[] {2,3} }, new int[][] {new int[] {1,2} ,new int[] {3,4} } , ...

but typing those new int[][] would be too time consuming and I am looking for a way that I can used the original data directly into the code. Is there a way to do that? Any suggestion would be appreciated!

I would be grateful if you can read up about the mark up and format the question so that it is readable. Thanks — Ed Heal, Apr 01 '16 at 23:06
Thank you for pointing out that. Actually I am trying to make a windows forms application, in that case will the tag c# be appropriate? — user109870, Apr 01 '16 at 23:12
Well, tag it as C#, rather than wasting time of people who know C or C++ but not C#. The `new int` etc approach you have is not valid in C++ either. In C++, there is no direct way to do what you ask in a single declaration or statement, anyway. — Peter, Apr 01 '16 at 23:15
Everybody considers using loops. How exactly should I use loops? — user109870, Apr 01 '16 at 23:39
Is the depth of nesting limited to three or does it keep going on? The a tree structure might be better. What do the data describe? — roadrunner66, Apr 01 '16 at 23:40
Loops to initialize the arrays. You really should store this kind of stuff in a file or a database instead of in code. — siride, Apr 02 '16 at 00:44

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Apr 01 '16 at 23:38

From Jagged Arrays (C# Programming Guide), I think you can use mix jagged and multidimensional arrays to make it a little easier.

        int[][,] test = new int[][,] {
            new int[,] { { 0 } },
            new int[,] { { 1 } },
            new int[,] { { 2, 3 } },
            new int[,] { { 1, 2 }, { 3, 4 } }
        };

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 02 '16 at 00:59

Given that your primary objective is to incorporate existing data into your code as an initialized c# jagged array, I suggest the following:

Paste the existing data.
Search and replace { with new [] {, except for the very first occurrence.
Assign to a variable with type int[][][] (add additional []s if more than three levels).

Formatted for readability, the result should be a valid c# statement as follows:

int[][][] x =
{
    new[] {
        new[] {0}
    },
    new[] {
        new[] {1}
    },
    new[] {
        new[] {2,3},
        new[] {2,3}
    }
};

Declaring a jagged array in C#

2 Answers2