Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
A 0-indexed language is a programming language where arrays and other data structures start counting from 0 instead of 1. In these languages, the first element is accessed with an index of 0.
Related terms
Indexing error: An error that occurs when accessing an element outside the valid range of indices in an array or other data structure.
Off-by-one error: A common mistake where programmers accidentally use incorrect indices due to confusion between zero-based indexing and one-based indexing.
Loop iteration: The process of repeatedly executing code based on incrementing or decrementing an index variable.