Java 3D array assign values

Question

I have an array that looks like this

static String[][][] School= new String[1000][20][5]; 

• In the first bracket I save the class name

Answer 1

Your array won't do what you expect it to do.

Think of the array like a 3D array, with each element a point. If you specify a single index, you're essentially telling the computer "OK, I want to assign "A1" to this slice of the array (in your example, you're trying to do something akin to String[][] elementAtI = "A1";). Now that doesn't make sense, does it?

To get to a single element in the array, you have to specify all three indices, much like how in 3D space you have to specify all three coordinates to locate a point:

School[3][4][5] = "A1";

What might be a better idea than a 3D array is objects. Packing everything into an array works, but that's not as readable as having a SchoolClass[], where each SchoolClass has a name and an array of Students, and each Student has an ID, name, etc.