What key properties characterize arrays in programming?

Arrays in programming are characterized by the following key properties:

• Fixed size: the size of the array is set at creation and cannot be changed.
• Homogeneity of elements: all elements in the array have the same type.
• Contiguous memory allocation: array elements are stored consecutively, enabling fast access by index.
• Access by index: elements are accessed via an index, usually starting from 0.

In Go, arrays are declared with a fixed size, for example:

var arr [5]int // array of 5 integers

For dynamic sizes, slices (slice) are used, which wrap arrays and allow changing the size.