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I'm trying to get a feel for the syntax of C# and I want to print the elements of an array that's stored inside an element of different array.

int[] numarray = new int[3];
numarray[0] = 5;
numarray[1] = 6;
numarray[2] = 6;
object[] array = new object[6];
array[0] = 1;
array[1] = "string";
array[2] = "test";
array[3] = numarray;
for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; i++)
{
    Console.WriteLine(array[i]);
}
for (int i = 0; i < array.Length; i++)
{
    Console.WriteLine(array[3].Length); // .Length is an error?
    //how do I print the values of array[3][i]? 
}
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    your array is of type object. Therefore each element in the array is also of type object, and the type object doesn't have a Length property. Commented Aug 7, 2019 at 17:24
  • You're asking for trouble 99% of the time you use the object type. Usually it should be a more specific type and/or means you're doing something "nasty" (like here). Commented Aug 7, 2019 at 17:24
  • 1
    C# is a strongly-typed language. Meaning the compiler will often need you to be very explicit up-casting from object to int[]. Use Console.WriteLine(((int[])array[3]).Length); However, you're generally better off embracing strong-typing and coding in a way where you don't have to up-cast any more than you absolutely have to. Commented Aug 7, 2019 at 17:27

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Your array is of type object. Therefore each element in the array is also of type object, and the type object doesn't have a Length property. So if you want to access that property, you'd have to convert the array[3] into the appropriate type, in this case an array of type int.

Console.WriteLine(((int[])array[3]).Length);

But this is really really bad design. You would only want to use the type object in very limited specific scenarios, as C# is a strongly typed language. So you should re-think your program, and try to use appropriate data structures to store different types of data instead of lumping them into simple object array.

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2 Comments

so generally you just keep arrays as a single type? What If I need to store an array different elements, should I use a list? an arraylist?
Yes, arrays should generally be of a single type. Re. the second part of the question, you should design your program so that such a need won't arise. You have a number of tools available for that, such as classes and inheritance if you need. But the bottom line is, C# is strongly typed so you should adhere to that.

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