What problems are associated with arrays?

• A. Fixed size, slow searching in unsorted arrays, and slow insertion/deletion in sorted arrays.
• B. They are always dynamically resizable.
• C. They have constant time insertion in all cases.
• D. They do not support random access.

Answer: (A)

Arrays mainly balance fast access by index with some challenging trade-offs. The size is fixed when the array is created, so you can’t just grow it on the fly without allocating a new, larger array and copying elements over—a costly operation. Searching an unsorted array is slow because you may have to check every element until you find the target. Inserting or deleting elements, especially in the middle, is also slow because you must shift subsequent elements to maintain contiguity and, in the case of keeping order in a sorted array, preserve the sorted sequence. These factors together describe the typical problems associated with arrays. Dynamic resizing is not guaranteed for all arrays, insertion isn’t constant time in general, and arrays do support random access, which is why the other statements don’t fit as accurately.