Tutorial Intro

In Java, methods can return arrays. This is useful when you want to perform operations on a group of elements and then return them for further use. The general syntax of a method that returns an array is as follows:

Syntax

general syntax dataType[] methodName() { // statements; // return arrayName; }

Here, `dataType` represents the type of array being returned. The use of one pair of brackets (`[]`) indicates that the method is returning a one-dimensional array of type `dataType`. Here's an example of a method that returns an array:

Basic example of returning array

example of a method that returns an array in java public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) { int[] returnedArray = getArray(); for (int num : returnedArray) { System.out.println(num); } } public static int[] getArray() { int[] array = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; return array; } }

Output

1 2 3 4 5

In this example, the `getArray` method returns an array of integers. We call this method in the `main` method and store the returned array in the `returnedArray` variable. We then print each element in the returned array. You can also return multidimensional arrays from methods. Here's an example:

Returning multidimensional arrays

Returning multidimensional arrays from methods in java public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) { int[][] returnedArray = getArray(); for (int i = 0; i < returnedArray.length; i++) { for (int j = 0; j < returnedArray[i].length; j++) { System.out.print(returnedArray[i][j] + " "); } System.out.println(); } } public static int[][] getArray() { int[][] array = {{1, 2, 3}, {4, 5, 6}, {7, 8, 9}}; return array; } }

Output

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

In this example, the `getArray` method returns a two-dimensional array of integers. We call this method in the `main` method and store the returned array in the `returnedArray` variable. We then print each element in the returned array. here are some examples of methods returning arrays of different data types in Java:

Returning an array of doubles

Returning an array of doubles from method in java public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) { double[] returnedArray = getArray(); for (double num : returnedArray) { System.out.println(num); } } public static double[] getArray() { double[] array = {1.1, 2.2, 3.3, 4.4, 5.5}; return array; } }

Output

1.1 2.2 3.3 4.4 5.5

Returning an array of Strings

Returning an array of Strings from method in java public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) { String[] returnedArray = getArray(); for (String str : returnedArray) { System.out.println(str); } } public static String[] getArray() { String[] array = {"Java", "Python", "C++", "JavaScript", "Ruby"}; return array; } }

Output

Java Python C++ JavaScript Ruby

Returning an array of custom objects

Returning an array of custom objects in java public class Main { public static void main(String[] args) { Student[] returnedArray = getArray(); for (Student student : returnedArray) { System.out.println(student.name); } } public static Student[] getArray() { Student[] array = {new Student("John"), new Student("Jane"), new Student("Doe")}; return array; } } class Student { String name; Student(String name) { this.name = name; } }

Output

John Jane Doe

In each of these examples, the `getArray` method returns an array of a specific data type. We call this method in the `main` method and store the returned array in the `returnedArray` variable. We then print each element in the returned array. when a method returns an array, it's actually returning a reference to that array. This means that any changes made to the returned array will affect the original array.

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