An array is a data structure that holds multiple values of the same data type in contiguous memory locations, making access very fast.
Arrays are optimized for locality of reference, allowing for faster memory access by capitalizing on spatial and temporal locality patterns.
Array elements are stored contiguously, which helps in preloading nearby elements into the CPU cache for quick access, making arrays ideal for storing large amounts of data and performing operations on all elements efficiently.
The next topic to explore is dynamic arrays, which deal with growing or shrinking arrays dynamically based on needs.