Tablice

Tablice, in programming, are a data structure that stores a finite sequence of elements of the same type, with each element accessible by a numeric index. They are typically implemented as a contiguous block of memory, which allows efficient random access.

Tablice can be static (fixed size) or dynamic (resizable). Static arrays have a length defined at creation and do not change size, while dynamic arrays can grow by allocating a larger block and copying elements, a process that may involve overhead. In many languages, a dynamic array behaves similarly to a vector or array list.

Indexing usually starts at zero in many languages, so the element at index i is the ith position from the start. Accessing an element by its index is a constant time operation, O(1). Insertion or deletion within the middle of a tablica typically requires shifting surrounding elements, resulting in O(n) time complexity, whereas appending at the end of a dynamic array is often amortized O(1).

Multi-dimensional tablice extend the concept to several dimensions, such as matrices. They can be stored as row-major or column-major arrays, influencing memory access patterns and performance on certain hardware.

Examples of tablice usage include storing fixed-size buffers, representing vectors or matrices, or holding configuration data that does not require frequent resizing. Limitations include the need to know an upper bound on size in advance (for static arrays) and potential memory waste or costly reallocation in dynamic arrays.

In practice, tablice appear in many programming languages under various names, and the term tablica is also used in Polish to mean a table or grid in mathematics and databases.