Array initializing in Scala - scala

Question

I'm new to Scala ,just started learning it today.I would like to know how to initialize an array in Scala.
Example Java code
String[] arr = { "Hello", "World" };
What is the equivalent of the above code in Scala ?

Answer 1

scala> val arr = Array("Hello","World")
arr: Array[java.lang.String] = Array(Hello, World)

Answer 2

To initialize an array filled with zeros, you can use:
> Array.fill[Byte](5)(0)
Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
This is equivalent to Java's new byte[5].

Answer 3

Can also do more dynamic inits with fill, e.g.
Array.fill(10){scala.util.Random.nextInt(5)}
==>
Array[Int] = Array(0, 1, 0, 0, 3, 2, 4, 1, 4, 3)

Answer 4

Additional to Vasil's answer: If you have the values given as a Scala collection, you can write
val list = List(1,2,3,4,5)
val arr = Array[Int](list:_*)
println(arr.mkString)
But usually the toArray method is more handy:
val list = List(1,2,3,4,5)
val arr = list.toArray
println(arr.mkString)

Answer 5

If you know Array's length but you don't know its content, you can use
val length = 5
val temp = Array.ofDim[String](length)
If you want to have two dimensions array but you don't know its content, you can use
val row = 5
val column = 3
val temp = Array.ofDim[String](row, column)
Of course, you can change String to other type.
If you already know its content, you can use
val temp = Array("a", "b")

Answer 6

Another way of declaring multi-dimentional arrays:
Array.fill(4,3)("")
res3: Array[Array[String]] = Array(Array("", "", ""), Array("", "", ""),Array("", "", ""), Array("", "", ""))

Answer 7

[Consolidating all the answers]
Initializing 1-D Arrays
// With fixed values
val arr = Array("a", "ab", "c")
// With zero value of the type
val size = 13
val arrWithZeroVal = Array.ofDim[Int](size) //values = 0
val arrBoolWithZeroVal = Array.ofDim[Boolean](size) //values = false
// With default value
val defVal = -1
val arrWithDefVals = Array.fill[Int](size)(defVal)
//With random values
val rand = scala.util.Random
def randomNumberGen: Int = rand.nextInt(5)
val arrWithRandomVals = Array.fill[Int](size){randomNumberGen}
Initializing 2-D/3-D/n-D Arrays
// With zero value of the type
val arr3dWithZeroVal = Array.ofDim[Int](5, 4, 3)
// With default value
val defVal = -1
val arr3dWithDefVal = Array.fill[Int](5, 4, 3)(defVal)
//With random values
val arr3dWithRandomValv = Array.fill[Int](5, 4, 3){randomNumberGen}
Conclusion :
Use Array.ofDim[TYPE](d1, d2, d3...) to use zero value of the type.
Use Array.fill[TYPE](d1, d2, d3...)(functionWhichReturnsTYPE) otherwise
Output for reference :
scala> val arr = Array("a", "ab", "c")
arr: Array[String] = Array(a, ab, c)
scala> val size = 13
size: Int = 13
scala> val arrWithZeroVal = Array.ofDim[Int](size) //values = 0
arrWithZeroVal: Array[Int] = Array(0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0)
scala> val arrBoolWithZeroVal = Array.ofDim[Boolean](size) //values = false
arrBoolWithZeroVal: Array[Boolean] = Array(false, false, false, false, false, false, false, false, false, false, false, false, false)
scala> val defVal = -1
defVal: Int = -1
scala> val arrWithDefVals = Array.fill[Int](size)(defVal)
arrWithDefVals: Array[Int] = Array(-1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1, -1)
scala> val rand = scala.util.Random
rand: util.Random.type = scala.util.Random$#6e3dd5ce
scala> def randomNumberGen: Int = rand.nextInt(5)
randomNumberGen: Int
scala> val arrWithRandomVals = Array.fill[Int](size){randomNumberGen}
arrWithRandomVals: Array[Int] = Array(2, 2, 3, 1, 1, 3, 3, 3, 2, 3, 2, 2, 0)
scala> val arr3dWithZeroVal = Array.ofDim[Int](5, 4, 3)
arr3dWithZeroVal: Array[Array[Array[Int]]] = Array(Array(Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0)), Array(Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0)), Array(Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0)), Array(Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0)), Array(Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 0)))
scala> val arr3dWithDefVal = Array.fill[Int](5, 4, 3)(defVal)
arr3dWithDefVal: Array[Array[Array[Int]]] = Array(Array(Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1)), Array(Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1)), Array(Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1)), Array(Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1)), Array(Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1), Array(-1, -1, -1)))
scala> val arr3dWithRandomVals = Array.fill[Int](5, 4, 3){randomNumberGen}
arr3dWithRandomVals: Array[Array[Array[Int]]] = Array(Array(Array(2, 0, 0), Array(4, 1, 0), Array(4, 0, 0), Array(0, 0, 1)), Array(Array(0, 1, 2), Array(2, 0, 2), Array(0, 4, 2), Array(0, 4, 2)), Array(Array(4, 3, 0), Array(2, 2, 4), Array(4, 0, 4), Array(4, 2, 1)), Array(Array(0, 3, 3), Array(0, 0, 4), Array(4, 1, 3), Array(2, 2, 3)), Array(Array(0, 2, 3), Array(1, 4, 1), Array(1, 3, 3), Array(0, 0, 3)))