Chapter 2. Understanding Collections: Associative Arrays
After completing this chapter, you will be able to
Identify associative arrays.
Design and implement associative arrays.
Understand when and when not to use associative arrays.
Associative Array Overview
An associative array, also called a dictionary, is an abstract collection type that associates a single key with a value. Each key in the collection is unique. Some languages refer to an associative array as a hash table, which generally leads to some confusion regarding the difference between an associative array and a hash table. An associative array defines how a collection should behave, such as associating a key with a value. You can implement an associative array in many ways. One possible ...
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