Understanding the HashMap class is essential for developers, both in real-world applications and interviews. In this post, we’ll explore how to insert, update, and manage key-value pairs in a HashMap. This knowledge will also lay the groundwork for our next article, where we’ll dive into HashSet and see how the two collections relate.
A HashMap stores data as key-value pairs, allowing efficient lookups, updates, and deletions. Here are some important characteristics:
Let’s explore these behaviors in more detail through code snippets.
The put() method adds a key-value pair to the map. However, if the key already exists, the old value will be replaced.
Map<Integer, Integer> map = new HashMap<>(); // Insert two key-value pairs map.put(1, 2); map.put(2, 3);
Explanation:
Here, we insert two entries:
Now, what happens if we try to insert a new value with the same key?
// Replacing an existing value map.put(2, 4); // Key 2 already exists, so the value is replaced.
The key 2 already existed with the value 3, but when we call put(2, 4), the new value 4 replaces the old one. This is the default behavior of HashMap.
In many situations, you may not want values to be replaced if a key already exists—this can lead to data loss if not handled carefully. In such cases, we can use the putIfAbsent() method.
// Ensuring value isn't replaced if key exists map.putIfAbsent(2, 5);
The putIfAbsent() method only inserts a value if the specified key is not already present in the map. Since key 2 is already associated with the value 4, the method call here has no effect.
System.out.println(map); // Output: {1=2, 2=4}
The output shows that key 2 retains the value 4 because putIfAbsent() did not overwrite the existing value.
The HashMap class is a powerful tool in Java for storing key-value pairs, but it’s crucial to understand its behavior with duplicate keys. Knowing when to use put() versus putIfAbsent() can help you avoid data loss and write efficient code. With O(1) average time complexity for basic operations, HashMap is a go-to choice for many performance-critical tasks.
Stay tuned for the next post, where we’ll explore HashSet and how it ensures uniqueness using a HashMap internally!
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Happy Coding!
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