Java Array structure

Question

I am a rookie in Java Programming. I am clearing all my concepts before making a step ahead. I was reading an array chapter which says the basic structure to create an array is:

Type[] var_name = new Type[limit];

I was going through some slides of opencourseware. In these slides, they inserted a class name into the type of the array. For example:

public class Baby {
   Baby[] siblings;
}

Can someone explain me what is the difference between the basic array structure and the structure written inside class.

Answer 1

I think this may just be confusion about what constitutes a type. For the reference:

Type[] var_name = new Type[limit]

"Type" must be replaced with any primitive type (int, double, etc.) as well as any Class (Baby, in your case), such as:

String [] string_array = new String[10];

If that's not the issue you're having, the other difference between the two statements is that the first actually creates an array of size "limit" and assigns it to the variable var_name... whereas in the Baby declaration, only the member variable "siblings" in the Baby class is declared. That variable can hold a Baby array, but that array has not yet been created. In the Baby constructor, you might see something like:

Baby() {
     siblings = new Baby[100];
}

This would create an array of Baby class object references of size 100, and assign it to the siblings member of the instance of Baby being created.