Question

If the size declarator of an array definition is omitted, C++ counts the number of items in the _________ to determine how large the array should be.

Short answer

Answer: If the size declarator of an array definition is omitted, C++ counts the number of items in the initializer list to determine how large the array should be.

Step-by-step solution

Understanding Array Definition in C++

When defining an array in C++, the syntax is as follows: data_type array_name[size], where data_type is the type of elements in the array (e.g., int, float, etc.), array_name is the name of the array, and size is the number of elements in the array.

Omitting the Array Size Declarator

If the size declarator (the number inside the brackets) is omitted, C++ counts the number of elements in the initializer list provided while defining the array. The initializer list contains the initial values for the array elements, enclosed in curly braces and separated by commas.

Completing the Statement

To answer the given question, the statement should read: "If the size declarator of an array definition is omitted, C++ counts the number of items in the initializer list to determine how large the array should be."

Example

Consider the following example to understand the statement: ```cpp int numbers[] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}; ``` In this case, we have not provided the size declarator explicitly; instead, we have provided an initializer list. C++ counts the number of items in the initializer list (5 items in this case), and automatically creates an array of that size (5 elements).