How to access elements from an array in C#?

Arrays in C# are collections of elements that can be accessed using an index. Array indexing starts from 0, meaning the first element is at index 0, the second at index 1, and so on.

Syntax

Following is the syntax for accessing array elements by index −

arrayName[index]

Following is the syntax for declaring and initializing an array −

dataType[] arrayName = new dataType[size] {element1, element2, element3};

Using Index to Access Elements

Each element in an array has a specific position called an index. You can access any element by specifying its index in square brackets −

using System;

class Program {
    static void Main() {
        int[] prices = new int[3] {99, 92, 95};
        
        // Accessing individual elements
        Console.WriteLine("First element (index 0): " + prices[0]);
        Console.WriteLine("Second element (index 1): " + prices[1]);
        Console.WriteLine("Third element (index 2): " + prices[2]);
    }
}

The output of the above code is −

First element (index 0): 99
Second element (index 1): 92
Third element (index 2): 95

Using Loops to Access All Elements

You can use a loop to access all elements in an array sequentially −

using System;

class Program {
    static void Main() {
        int[] prices = new int[3] {99, 92, 95};
        
        // Using for loop to access all elements
        for (int i = 0; i 

The output of the above code is −

Price of Product[0] = 99
Price of Product[1] = 92
Price of Product[2] = 95
Product 3rd price: 95


Using foreach Loop

The foreach loop provides a simpler way to iterate through all array elements without using indexes −

using System;

class Program {
    static void Main() {
        string[] fruits = {"Apple", "Banana", "Orange", "Mango"};
        
        Console.WriteLine("All fruits in the array:");
        foreach (string fruit in fruits) {
            Console.WriteLine("- " + fruit);
        }
    }
}


The output of the above code is −

All fruits in the array:
- Apple
- Banana
- Orange
- Mango


Key Points

• Array indexing starts from 0, not 1.

• Use arrayName[index] to access elements at specific positions.

• Use arrayName.Length property to get the total number of elements.

• Accessing an index beyond the array bounds will throw an IndexOutOfRangeException.

Conclusion

Accessing array elements in C# is straightforward using square bracket notation with the element's index. You can access individual elements directly or use loops like for and foreach to process all elements efficiently.