What Does Sparse Array Mean?
A sparse array is an array of data in which many elements have a value of zero. This is in contrast to a dense array, where most of the elements have non-zero values or are “full” of numbers. A sparse array may be treated differently than a dense array in digital data handling.
Techopedia Explains Sparse Array
As with other types of sparse information resources, such as, for example, a sparse matrix, a sparse array may be compressed or truncated to fit a particular storage space. Rather than holding all of the actual zero values in variables, the array could simply point to the number of zero values in a sequence or otherwise compress the array’s data storage.
