Java Collections: introduction to hashing and hash maps

In our using Java collections tutorial, we looked at a type of collection called a map. A map is a set of associations, for example between country codes and their corresponding names, or between IDs and corresponding cached objects, or in fact a whole host of other programming problems. The particular type of Map that we used in our illustration was a Java HashMap. A hash map uses a particular structure internally to try and make looking objects up in the map efficient. On this and the following pages, we'll look in more detail at that structure.

When do I need to worry about how hash maps work?

In our example of using a HashMap, we were just storing plain old Strings in the map. As with many other objects in the standard Java libraries, for storing Strings you don't usually need to worry too much about the gory details of how hash maps work. However, knowing how hash maps work is more important:

Introducing hashing

The name HashMap (and indeed HashSet) comes from the general name of the technique they use: hashing. On the following pages, we'll look at the general technique of hashing and how it applies to Java collections that use it, notably the HashMap and HashSet classes.


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Editorial page content written by Neil Coffey. Copyright © Javamex UK 2021. All rights reserved.