Foundations Updated 2026-09 View as Markdown

Arrays

An array can hold several values under one name. Array naming is the same as variables naming.

An array can hold several values under one name. Array naming is the same as variables naming. An array is initialized by assign space-delimited values enclosed in ()

my_array=(apple banana "Fruit Basket" orange)
new_array[2]=apricot

Array members need not be consecutive or contiguous. Some members of the array can be left uninitialized.

The total number of elements in the array is referenced by ${#arrayname[@]}

my_array=(apple banana "Fruit Basket" orange)
echo  ${#my_array[@]}                   # 4

The array elements can be accessed with their numeric index. The index of the first element is 0.

my_array=(apple banana "Fruit Basket" orange)
echo ${my_array[3]}                     # orange - note that curly brackets are needed
# adding another array element
my_array[4]="carrot"                    # value assignment without a $ and curly brackets
echo ${#my_array[@]}                    # 5
echo ${my_array[${#my_array[@]}-1]}     # carrot

1 2 3
hello world
The number of names listed in the NAMES array: 3
The second name on the NAMES list is: Eric

#!/bin/bash
NAMES=( John Eric Jessica )
# write your code here
NUMBERS=( 1 2 3 )
STRINGS=( "hello" "world" )
NumberOfNames=${#NAMES[@]}
second_name=${NAMES[1]}
echo ${NUMBERS[@]}
echo ${STRINGS[@]}
echo "The number of names listed in the NAMES array: $NumberOfNames"
echo "The second name on the NAMES list is:" ${second_name}