Why do some programming languages start the index of an array at sub zero (0) and others at one (1)?

Question

If my above statement is correct what languages start with index (1)?

Answer 1

Hmm, I dont think any of them do, maybe, ActionScript, or Fortan, but i know about every other language and they alls tart with the index of (0)

Answer 2

Wow, all the different reported solutions contain a good type of iterating and rewriting aspects one after the other. Java promises a miles more effective powerful and faster thanks to replica arrays, taking great element with regard to the contiguous memory allocation given to arrays. equipment.arraycopy() has similarities to a memcopy() call. right it really is an party: public type ArrayReplacementDemo { //only a helper thanks to fantastically print arrays public static void printArray(int[] array){ if(array.length > 0){ equipment.out.print(array[0]); } for (int n = a million; n < array.length; n++) { equipment.out.print(", " + array[n]); } equipment.out.println(); } public static void important(String[] args) { // I used a somewhat larger array to exhibit more effective int[] array1 = { a million, 2, -3, 4, -5, 6, 7 }; equipment.out.println("starting up with:"); printArray(array1); equipment.out.println(); for (int i = 0; i < array1.length; i++) { if (array1[i] < 0 && i < array1.length - a million) { //replica the relax again to same array, yet shifted actual equipment.arraycopy(array1, i+a million, array1, i+2, array1.length - i - 2); array1[i+a million] = 0; } //examine progression printArray(array1); } } } The output then appears like this: starting up with: a million, 2, -3, 4, -5, 6, 7 a million, 2, -3, 4, -5, 6, 7 a million, 2, -3, 4, -5, 6, 7 a million, 2, -3, 0, 4, -5, 6 a million, 2, -3, 0, 4, -5, 6 a million, 2, -3, 0, 4, -5, 6 a million, 2, -3, 0, 4, -5, 0 a million, 2, -3, 0, 4, -5, 0 basically as you unique, even as ever a adverse value is stumbled on, a 0 is inserted AFTER the adverse value and the the relax are pushed actual in the confines of the present array length.

Answer 3

Not many start the index at 1 anymore. Fortran is the one that comes to mind. Starting at 1 seems intuitive to us because we're used to starting at 1 when we count, but 0 matches the logic of how addressing works. Let's say that pointer P to an array indicates the address at which it starts. If we call the amount of storage each value of the array requires 1 unit (which may be 1 byte, 2 bytes, 4 bytes, whatever), then the first value is located at P, the second at P+1, and so forth.

Answer 4

FORTRAN did it, as people said. BASIC does as well (not Visual Basic) but it gives you the choice of starting with 1 or 0.

Both of those languages were among the first "high level languages" created in the 1960s, and the base of 1 was probably chosen to make programming easier for those who didn't understand machine language.