A similar example is field of carrots or carrot field.
The latter feels better to me, especially in the carrot example, but when asking colleagues they preferred 'array of ints'.
I'm not a professional writer, so I don't know if there is a clear winner, or what the answer should depend on.
They both have subtly different connotations. An array of integers gives the connotation of an array filled with or containing integers. An integer array gives the connotation of an array that is for integers.
So the difference is that one describes the contents of the array (array of ints) and the other describes the array itself (int array). So while in general that difference is subtle enough to not matter too much I would say that you can use that difference to decide which is better in your use case.
As for which is more readable I would say they are evenly matched except in the case where the array's ints are "of" something else. Ex: "Int array of heights" is more readable than "array of ints of heights".
A carrot field is a field that is meant for carrots (or used for carrots) while a field of carrots can be a field of planted carrots or a field covered in carrots or a field constructed out of carrots, etc. Again there is overlap in the connotations but there are also differences that might matter depending on the circumstances.
When it comes to readability, I think the only true test is to survey humans. Algorithms and rules will always fall short. Readability is by definition how readable something actually is for general humans, not how readable it "should" be.
So just listen to the consensus you've gotten. If you haven't surveyed a large number of colleagues, then maybe put out a larger survey to get more data.
In my subjective opinion as a software engineer, you should consider a wider set of options. Here are some examples:
size_t or ssize_t, but those are integer types). Again, the meaning or context of the integers is important information which we prefer to remember. Similarly, an offset array contains offsets (which probably should be off_t or ptrdiff_t, but might be ssize_t in practice).char is an integer type too, so an array of char could be called an "integer array," but that would be very confusing. Prefer buffer or byte array, or a more specific term depending on the purpose and structure of the buffer (e.g. a "ring buffer" is a buffer that wraps around when you reach the end, a "string" contains textual data, etc.).
Consider the context in which you'll use the phrase.
An advantage of "int array":
As a noun modified by a noun, it is slightly shorter (no "of"). It can be used as a noun phrase to modify yet another noun, e.g. "int array sorting", "int array sorting algorithm".
An advantage of "array of ints":
You can use an adjective to describe either the array or the ints, and the adjective's position clearly indicates which you've done. In "an array of big ints" the individual ints are big; in "a big array of ints" the array is a big one.
Which is more readable - array of ints or int array?
In C,"int array" has an advantage. Type names are not well suited for pluralization.
int is a type, ints may be a user defined type. Best to express type names exactly and not pluralize them or otherwise append prefixes and suffixes.
When describing programming language type code, consider using typography to clarify. "int array" instead of "int array", "array of ints" vs. "array of ints"
Firstly, if int is a particular datatype, you should make sure it's formatted differently to other text to signify that you are talking about a specific datatype rather than integers in general. That's far more important than whether you use "array of ints" or "int array".
Personally I would argue in favour of "array of ints" (or in the general case "array of integers"), because it's more formal and less ambiguous, both of which are reasonably important in technical writing. (As an added bonus, array of int is actually valid syntax in certain programming languages.)
If you can't decide, one option is to introduce them as synonyms for each other - to explicitly tell the reader that "int array" means the same as "array of ints", after which you would be free to use either, as appropriate, without confusing the reader (because both terms have been explained).
In general, you're best off introducing the terminology that you're going to use before you use it just to make completely sure that your audience understands what you're talking about (people who are used to different languages may have different expectations). This has the added benefit of potentially making your document more accessible to people who are less familiar with the terminology, e.g. novice programmers.
Just from the standpoint of a c# developer, reading left to right (natural for dare I say it most languages), then int[] is better enunciated as int array, rather than array of ints.
As someone, who though native English speaker is also fluent in German. I still find enunciating 21 as one and twenty (einundzwanzig) remarkably confusing (and the bigger the number, the worse it gets). It is the same principle. Stick to left to right.
If you are really not forced to use just the "natural language", I think that the most understandable is the good old
int[]
:)
Whenever it does not collide with the context, I would use this notation.
Examples:
You may store the results to
int[], or you may use another data structure.
The fastest way to iterate overint[]is with a pointer.
If you really have to stick to natural language, I would vote for "array of ints" over "int array" with the following arguments:
int[] is much more analogous to "array of carrots" (array containing carrots/integers) than to "carrot array" (= a type of array)."int array" would make sense only in the context of programming languages where there are several different types of arrays and "int array" is one of the types. (I am not aware of any language like this, but who knows.)
