array scope

[John Kirvan]

How do you know what the scope of an array is? Can it be accessed from anywhere if its in the main method

[Hentay Duke]

First answer: depends on where the array is declared.
Second answer: no

[John Kirvan]

how do you make an array available for all classes within your program.

[Hentay Duke]

Declare it outside a method. Anything declared inside a method has scope limited to that method. This includes the main method which is just another method.

Here's a small example

 
public class example {
 
public String myString = "Hello"; // available to any class
 
public example () {
 super();
}
 
public void myMethod() {
 public String mySecondString = "World"; // only available inside myMethod
}
 
}

Hope this helps!

[John Kirvan]

Thanks, knowing an array within a method only can be used within that method should help a lot logically. My professor has the array initilized within a method and I don't think were allowed to change that part of the code, but i'll probably think of something. Thanks again

[Layne Lund]

Scoping rules are the same for all variables. Arrays are not special in this context.

Layne

[Hung Yee]

FYI: Sun has a tutorial that talks about a variable's scope that might interest you:

http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/java/nutsandbolts/scope.html