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    10 <!DOCTYPE concept

    11   PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DITA Concept//EN" "concept.dtd">

    12 <concept id="GUID-7DDEE87B-7056-5AAA-91A1-33D3D0D50041" xml:lang="en"><title>Array

    13 of packed elements, flat array</title><shortdesc>Describes arrays of packed elements in a flat.</shortdesc><prolog><metadata><keywords/></metadata></prolog><conbody>

    14 <p>This is a <codeph>CArrayPakFlat&lt;class T&gt;</codeph> object whose

    15 elements can have different lengths but are physically contiguous within a

    16 flat array buffer. Each element is preceded by a <codeph>TInt</codeph> value

    17 to record the length of that element.</p>

    18 <p>A flat buffer always occupies a single cell allocated from the heap and

    19 is always extended by the process of reallocation. A flat array buffer is

    20 implemented using a <codeph>CBufFlat</codeph> object. </p>

    21 <p>The following diagram illustrates how elements are organised within the

    22 array buffer:</p>

    23 <fig id="GUID-C36AFFF1-3BE7-5AF3-B852-B1AB3BBA257D">

    24 <image href="GUID-2472E5E0-C33A-51B4-8210-89D7DEFA87C8_d0e219549_href.png" placement="inline"/>

    25 </fig>

    26 <p>This kind of array is suitable for a small number of objects or for a moderately

    27 large but fixed maximum number of objects. It is not suitable for large arrays

    28 with a high turnover of elements. </p>

    29 <p>A packed array has the advantage over a variable flat array in having a

    30 smaller memory overhead for each element. The disadvantage is that the elements

    31 and their preceding <codeph>TInt</codeph> values occupy a single cell which

    32 has a higher risk of reallocation failure in times of low memory availability.</p>

    33 <p>This class is immediately derived from the abstract template

    34 base class <codeph>CArrayPak&lt;class T&gt;</codeph> which is itself derived

    35 from the abstract non-templated base class <codeph>CArrayPakBase</codeph>.</p>

    36 <section id="GUID-0758EE5B-5846-4ABD-B2E5-DA2C0AD57032"><title>See also</title> <p><xref href="GUID-112AAFA5-B4C9-5B62-A106-FB5097C13A0E.dita">Using

    37 Dynamic Buffers</xref>.</p> </section>

    38 </conbody></concept>