C# Multidimensional Arrays

The multidimensional array is also known as rectangular arrays in C#. It can be two dimensional or three dimensional. The data is stored in tabular form (row * column) which is also known as matrix.

To create multidimensional array, we need to use comma inside the square brackets. For example:

1. int[,] arr=new int[3,3];//declaration of 2D array  
2. int[,,] arr=new int[3,3,3];//declaration of 3D array  

C# Multidimensional Array Example

Let's see a simple example of multidimensional array in C# which declares, initializes and traverse two dimensional array.

1. using System;  
2. public class MultiArrayExample  
3. {  
4.     public static void Main(string[] args)  
5.     {  
6.         int[,] arr=new int[3,3];//declaration of 2D array  
7.         arr[0,1]=10;//initialization  
8.         arr[1,2]=20;  
9.         arr[2,0]=30;  
10.   
11.         //traversal  
12.         for(int i=0;i<3;i++){  
13.             for(int j=0;j<3;j++){  
14.                 Console.Write(arr[i,j]+" ");  
15.             }  
16.             Console.WriteLine();//new line at each row  
17.         }  
18.     }  
19. }  

Output:

0 10 0
0 0 20
30 0 0

C# Multidimensional Array Example: Declaration and initialization at same time

There are 3 ways to initialize multidimensional array in C# while declaration.

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

We can omit the array size.

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

We can omit the new operator also.

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

Let's see a simple example of multidimensional array which initializes array at the time of declaration.

1. using System;  
2. public class MultiArrayExample  
3. {  
4.     public static void Main(string[] args)  
5.     {  
6.         int[,] arr = { { 1, 2, 3 }, { 4, 5, 6 }, { 7, 8, 9 } };//declaration and initialization  
7.   
8.         //traversal  
9.         for(int i=0;i<3;i++){  
10.             for(int j=0;j<3;j++){  
11.                 Console.Write(arr[i,j]+" ");  
12.             }  
13.             Console.WriteLine();//new line at each row  
14.         }  
15.     }  
16. }  

Output:

1 2 3
4 5 6
7 8 9