{
  "id": "programming.arrays.length-is-a-method",
  "uri": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/m/programming.arrays.length-is-a-method",
  "uuid": "38f22ed3-8b31-4032-9be3-581599629ee5",
  "version": "0.1.1",
  "status": "draft",
  "trust": "low",
  "title": "An array's length is a method call",
  "statement": "You get the length of an array by calling a method on it, in the same way as for a string or a list.",
  "kind": "notation-confusion",
  "domain": "programming.arrays",
  "about": [
    {
      "scheme": "Miscon",
      "uri": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.arrays.length"
    }
  ],
  "level_band": [
    "secondary",
    "undergraduate"
  ],
  "locale": "en",
  "evidence_patterns": [
    {
      "item_shape": "write the length of an array",
      "signature": "writes length() or size() on an array",
      "example": {
        "item": "Given int[] a, write an expression for its length.",
        "expected": "a.length",
        "response": "a.length() (or a.size())"
      }
    }
  ],
  "discriminators": {
    "vs_slip": "A slip is a typo fixed on the first compile error. The belief persists across items and the learner explains that 'everything is a method'."
  },
  "relations": {
    "conflicts_with": [
      {
        "external": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.arrays.length",
        "label": "An array's length is a property, not a method"
      }
    ],
    "resolved_by": [
      {
        "external": "https://open-misconceptions.github.io/miscon-data/c/programming.arrays.length",
        "label": "An array's length is a property, not a method"
      }
    ]
  },
  "alignments": [
    {
      "scheme": "progmiscon",
      "code": "Java/ArrayHasLengthMethod",
      "uri": "https://progmiscon.org/misconceptions/Java/ArrayHasLengthMethod",
      "relation": "close-match"
    }
  ],
  "provenance": {
    "sources": [
      {
        "type": "inventory",
        "citation": "Chiodini, L., Moreno Santos, I., Gallidabino, A., Tafliovich, A., Santos, A. L., & Hauswirth, M. (2021). A curated inventory of programming language misconceptions. In Proceedings of the 26th ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE '21), 380-386.",
        "doi": "10.1145/3430665.3456343",
        "url": "https://progmiscon.org/",
        "note": "Inventory consulted for the misconception name and scope only; progmiscon publishes no licence for its text, so Open Misconceptions' statements and examples are written independently."
      }
    ],
    "origin": "llm-drafted",
    "notes": "Drafted from the cited literature for the Open Misconceptions seed pack; statement, examples and discriminators are original text. Awaiting maintainer review."
  },
  "history": {
    "changelog": [
      {
        "version": "0.1.1",
        "date": "2026-09-05",
        "change": "Schema 0.2 migration: about/alignments carry a free-string scheme (corestandards.org URLs relabelled CCSS where present); trust computed from reviews[] (none yet, so low); no change to the statement or evidence."
      }
    ]
  },
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0"
}