where to check the length instance variable for an Array

[sai prasanna]

hi all
we have length instance variable for an array how to view this instance variable as we view methods in java API

thanks in advance
sai prasanna

[Stan James]

An array is an object and it is an instance of a class which ought to document the length attribute. I don't think it's in the API docs at all, though. Arrays are one of those dirty little corners in the language where they can say "Everything works like this ... except array"

You can try to explore the class through reflection. This much works:

public class TestArray
{
    public static void main( String[] args )
    {
        String[] arr = new String[3];
        Class c = arr.getClass();
        System.out.println( c.getName() );
    }
}

Look into the Class class for ways to explore the methods and attributes.

[Jesper de Jong]

Your question is not clear.

The "length" property that arrays have in Java is not a real instance variable. It's just a special Java keyword. It's part of the Java language, not of the standard API, so it isn't documented in the API documentation.

What is it exactly that you want to know?

[Dan Patterson]

Actually, length is a read-only data field that specifies the number of elements in the array.

[Vlado Zajac]

It is not defined in API doc, it is defined in the Java Language Specification