How do I initialize an empty array in C#?

Is it possible to create an empty array without specifying the size?

For example, I created:

String[] a = new String[5];

Can we create the above string array without the size?

If you are going to use a collection that you don't know the size of in advance, there are better options than arrays.

Use a List<string> instead - it will allow you to add as many items as you need and if you need to return an array, call ToArray() on the variable.

var listOfStrings = new List<string>();

// do stuff...

string[] arrayOfStrings = listOfStrings.ToArray();

If you must create an empty array you can do this:

string[] emptyStringArray = new string[0]; 

Try this:

string[] a = new string[] { };

In .NET 4.6 the preferred way is to use a new method, Array.Empty:

String[] a = Array.Empty<string>();

The implementation is succinct, using how static members in generic classes behave in .Net:

public static T[] Empty<T>()
{
    return EmptyArray<T>.Value;
}

// Useful in number of places that return an empty byte array to avoid
// unnecessary memory allocation.
internal static class EmptyArray<T>
{
    public static readonly T[] Value = new T[0];
}

^{(code contract related code removed for clarity)}

See also:

• Array.Empty source code on Reference Source
• Introduction to Array.Empty<T>()
• Marc Gravell - Allocaction, Allocation, Allocation - my favorite post on tiny hidden allocations.

You could inititialize it with a size of 0, but you will have to reinitialize it, when you know what the size is, as you cannot append to the array.

string[] a = new string[0];