Performance of 2-dimensional array vs 1-dimensional array

Question

In C, is there a difference in time and space between an m×n 2-dimensional array vs a 1-dimensional array of length m×n (for large values of m and n)? Will accessing element

Answer 1

I don't think there's any difference. Internally, c treats a two dimensional array like several one-dimensional arrays in sequence.

However, as with all things performance, your mileage may vary. There may be some kind of subtle pointer arithmetic difference. Run timed tests on both scenarios. Whichever one runs faster wins.