Map Interface in Java

Map Interface

A Map contains values on the basis of key, i.e. key and value pair. Each key and value pair is known as an entry. A Map contains unique keys. A Map is useful if you have to search, update or delete elements on the basis of a key.

A Map is an object that maps keys to values. A map cannot contain duplicate keys: Each key can map to at most one value. The Map interface includes methods for basic operations (such as put(), get(), remove(), containsKey(), containsValue(), size(), and empty()), bulk operations (such as putAll() and clear()), and collection views (such as keySet(), entrySet(), and values()). A Map is useful if you have to search, update or delete elements on the basis of a key.

The Java platform contains three general-purpose Map implementations: HashMap, TreeMap, and LinkedHashMap. Their behavior and performance are precisely analogous to HashSet, TreeSet, and LinkedHashSet.

This is Map Interface('java.util.Map') hierarchy:

Java Map hierarchy

HaspMap

HashMap is the implementation of Map, but it doesn't maintain any order. Lets an examples of HashMap implementation:

// Import the HashMap class
import java.util.HashMap;

public class MyClass {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    // Create a HashMap object called capitalCities
    HashMap<String, String> capitalCities = new HashMap<String, String>();

    // Add keys and values (Country, City)
    capitalCities.put("England", "London");
    capitalCities.put("Germany", "Berlin");
    capitalCities.put("Norway", "Oslo");
    capitalCities.put("USA", "Washington DC");
    System.out.println(capitalCities);
  }
}

Output:

{USA=Washington DC, Norway=Oslo, England=London, Germany=Berlin}

LinkedHasMap

Java LinkedHashMap class is Hashtable and LinkedList implementation of the Map interface, with predictable iteration order. It inherits HashMap class and implements the Map interface.

import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.Map;
public class LinkedHashMapDemo {
    public static void main(String args[]) {
         // HashMap Declaration
         LinkedHashMap<Integer, String> lhmap = 
                 new LinkedHashMap<Integer, String>();

         //Adding elements to LinkedHashMap
         lhmap.put(22, "Abey");
         lhmap.put(33, "Dawn");
         lhmap.put(1, "Sherry");
         lhmap.put(2, "Karon");
         lhmap.put(100, "Jim");

         // Generating a Set of entries
         Set set = lhmap.entrySet();

         // Displaying elements of LinkedHashMap
         Iterator iterator = set.iterator();
         while(iterator.hasNext()) {
            Map.Entry me = (Map.Entry)iterator.next();
            System.out.print("Key is: "+ me.getKey() + 
                    "& Value is: "+me.getValue()+"\n");
         }
    }
}

Output:

Key is: 22& Value is: Abey

Key is: 33& Value is: Dawn

Key is: 1& Value is: Sherry

Key is: 2& Value is: Karon

Key is: 100& Value is: Jim

TreeMap

The TreeMap in Java is used to implement Map interface and NavigableMap along with the AbstractMap Class. The map is sorted according to the natural ordering of its keys, or by a Comparator provided at map creation time, depending on which constructor is used.

import java.util.TreeMap;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.Iterator;
import java.util.Map;

public class Details {

   public static void main(String args[]) {

      /* This is how to declare TreeMap */
      TreeMap<Integer, String> tmap = 
             new TreeMap<Integer, String>();

      /*Adding elements to TreeMap*/
      tmap.put(1, "Data1");
      tmap.put(23, "Data2");
      tmap.put(70, "Data3");
      tmap.put(4, "Data4");
      tmap.put(2, "Data5");

      /* Display content using Iterator*/
      Set set = tmap.entrySet();
      Iterator iterator = set.iterator();
      while(iterator.hasNext()) {
         Map.Entry mentry = (Map.Entry)iterator.next();
         System.out.print("key is: "+ mentry.getKey() + " & Value is: ");
         System.out.println(mentry.getValue());
      }

   }
}

Output:

key is: 1 & Value is: Data1

key is: 2 & Value is: Data5

key is: 4 & Value is: Data4

key is: 23 & Value is: Data2

key is: 70 & Value is: Data3

java

java, collection, API, Map, HashMap, LinkedHashMap, TreeMap