Do I need to allocate the array for GetComponentsInChildren?

Questions & Answers
1

I’m still learning the correct way to use arrays in Unity and I have a basic question.

I would like to get an array of all weapons attached to my vehicle. I am using this code:

// The weapons attached to the vehicle
private RangedWeapon[] m_Weapons;

void Start()
{
	// Get all weapons attached to the vehicle
	GameObject Vehicle = transform.parent ? transform.parent.gameObject : null;
	if(Vehicle)
	{
		m_Weapons = Vehicle.GetComponentsInChildren<RangedWeapon>();
	}
}

Is this sufficient? Or do I need to allocate the m_Weapons array before assigning a value to it?

Thanks for any tips!

2

No. The call allocates the array and returns it to you.

3

You don’t have to instantiate the array first. Arrays are immutable(can’t be changed, not mutable) by their very nature, so declaring and setting the array is a method is totally fine and makes sense. The empty array wouldn’t be helpful anyways.