Representation of arrays in computer memory

By Lungsi Ngwua
July 25, 2020

Ngwua, L. (2020, July 25). Representation of arrays in computer memory. NeuralGraphs. https://www.neuralgraphs.com/notes/ndarraymemory/notesp1.html

Array representation
- Contiguous & Non-contiguous Memory
- C-style transformation
- F-style transformation
- C-style & F-style relationship

Contiguous vs Non-contiguous Memory Layout

Let us consider a 2-dimensional array, say in Python

x = numpy.random.rand(4, 3)

This array (matrix) with m-elements will be represented in the memory as a 1-dimensional sequence of m-blocks. The former is called non-contiguous memory layout and the latter contiguous memory layout.

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How is the 2-D array (non-contiguous layout) represented in the computer as contiguous layout ?

Depending upon the styles (C or Fortran), the non-contiguous layout is transformed by the computer to contiguous layout.

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