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Anonymous Array in Java

Difficulty Level :
Easy ● Last Updated :
02 Dec, 2021

An array in Java without any name is known as an anonymous array. It is an array

just for creating and using instantly. Using an anonymous array, we can pass an array

with user values without the referenced variable.

Proper ties of Anonymous Arrays :

We can create an array without a name. Such types of nameless arrays are called

anonymous arrays.

The main purpose of an anonymous array is just for instant use (just for one-time

usage).

An anonymous array is passed as an argument of a method.

Note : For Anonymous array creation, do not mention size in []. The number of

values passing inside {} will become the size.

Syntax : 

new <data type>[]{<list of values with comma separator>};

Examples :

// anonymous int array

new int[] { 1, 2, 3, 4};

//useanonymous
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// anonymous String array

new String[] {"Geeks", "for", "Geeks"};

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// anonymous multidimensional array

new int[][] { {10, 20}, {30, 40, 50} };

Implementation:

Java

// Java program to illustrate the

// concept of anonymous array
 
class Test {
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
          // anonymous array
          sum(new int[]{ 1, 2, 3 });
    }
   
    public static void sum(int[] a)
    {
        int total = 0;
 
        // using for-each loop
        for (int i : a)
            total = total + i;
         
        System.out.println("The sum is: " + total);
    }
}

Output

The sum is: 6

Explanation: In the above example, just to call the sum method, we required an

array, but af ter implementing the sum method, we are not using the array anymore.

Hence for this one-time requirement anonymous array is the best choice. Based on

our requirement, we can later give the name to the anonymous array, and then it will

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Article Tags : Java-Array-Programs, Java-Arrays, Java

Practice Tags : Java

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