Software Engineering vocabulary · Data Structures and Algorithms
Hash map
Meaning in software engineering, with examples
/ˈhæʃ mæp/nounCommon term
In software engineering, hash map means: A data structure that stores key-value pairs and finds the value for a given key very quickly, usually in constant time.
In Turkish: hash tablosu, anahtar-değer tablosu, sözlük
How it is used
Very common in interviews: 'Use a hash map to store what you've already seen.' Languages use different names: HashMap in Java, dict in Python, Map or plain objects in JavaScript.
Example sentences
If you put the IDs in a hash map, you don't need the nested loop.
The cache is just a hash map from user ID to profile data.
Common collocations
use a hash map
store in a hash map
hash map lookup
key-value pairs
Related terms
data structureA way of organizing data in memory, such as an array, list, tree or hash map, so that certain operations are fast and simple.
arrayAn ordered collection of items stored one after another, where each item can be reached by its position number, called an index.
time complexityHow the number of steps an algorithm takes grows as the size of its input grows, usually written in Big O notation.
Big O notationA way of describing how the running time or memory use of an algorithm grows as the input gets bigger, for example O(1), O(n) or O(n²).
