What is a Hashtable/Hashmap?

A hashtable is a data structure that with a collection of key-value pairs, where each key maps to a value, and the keys must be unique and hashable.

  • In Python there is a built in hashtable known as a ___.

The primary purpose of a hashtable is to provide efficient lookup, insertion, and deletion operations. When an element is to be inserted into the hashtable, a hash function is used to map the key to a specific index in the underlying array that is used to store the key-value pairs. The value is then stored at that index. When searching for a value, the hash function is used again to find the index where the value is stored.

The key advantage of a hashtable over other data structures like arrays and linked lists is its average-case time complexity for lookup, insertion, and deletion operations.

  • The typical time complexity of a hashtable is ___.

Notes

- A dictionary is a built in hashmap

What is Hashing and Collision?

Hashing is the process of mapping a given key to a value in a hash table or hashmap, using a hash function. The hash function takes the key as input and produces a hash value or hash code, which is then used to determine the index in the underlying array where the value is stored. The purpose of hashing is to provide a quick and efficient way to access data, by eliminating the need to search through an entire data structure to find a value.

However, it is possible for two different keys to map to the same hash value, resulting in a collision. When a collision occurs, there are different ways to resolve it, depending on the collision resolution strategy used.

Python's dictionary implementation is optimized to handle collisions efficiently, and the performance of the dictionary is generally very good, even in the presence of collisions. However, if the number of collisions is very high, the performance of the dictionary can degrade, so it is important to choose a good hash function that minimizes collisions when designing a Python dictionary.

What is a Set? 

my_set = set([1, 2, 3, 2, 1])
print(my_set)  

# What do you notice in the output?
# I notice that it is outlined like a list in the ourput. 
# I also notice that it only printed every value once. This is beause

# Why do you think Sets are in the same tech talk as Hashmaps/Hashtables?
# I think all of these things are in the same tech talk because they all cannot have duplicate values
#

Notes

-

Dictionary Example

Below are just some basic features of a dictionary. As always, documentation is always the main source for all the full capablilties.

lover_album = {
    "title": "Lover",
    "artist": "Taylor Swift",
    "year": 2019,
    "genre": ["Pop", "Synth-pop"],
    "tracks": {
        1: "I Forgot That You Existed",
        2: "Cruel Summer",
        3: "Lover",
        4: "The Man",
        5: "The Archer",
        6: "I Think He Knows",
        7: "Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince",
        8: "Paper Rings",
        9: "Cornelia Street",
        10: "Death By A Thousand Cuts",
        11: "London Boy",
        12: "Soon You'll Get Better (feat. Dixie Chicks)",
        13: "False God",
        14: "You Need To Calm Down",
        15: "Afterglow",
        16: "Me! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! At The Disco)",
        17: "It's Nice To Have A Friend",
        18: "Daylight"
    }
}

# What data structures do you see?
# I see an integer and strings, also a list with genre, also a dictionary inside of a dictionary
#

# Printing the dictionary
print(lover_album)

print(lover_album.get('tracks'))
# or
print(lover_album['tracks'])

## Retrieves the whole dictionary

print(lover_album.get('tracks')[4])
# or
print(lover_album['tracks'][4])

## Calls a track

lover_album["producer"] = ['Taylor Swift', 'Jack Antonoff', 'Joel Little', 'Taylor Swift', 'Louis Bell', 'Frank Dukes']
# What can you change to make sure there are no duplicate producers?
# We can add a set or make this list into a set so it won't duplicate
#

# Printing the dictionary
print(lover_album)

my_set = set(['Taylor Swift', 'Jack Antonoff', 'Joel Little', 'Taylor Swift', 'Louis Bell', 'Frank Dukes'])
print(my_set) 

lover_album["tracks"].update({19: "All Of The Girls You Loved Before"})

# How would add an additional genre to the dictionary, like electropop? 
# This could be done my putting the set 
# 

# Printing the dictionary
print(lover_album)

for k,v in lover_album.items(): # iterate using a for loop for key and value
    print(str(k) + ": " + str(v))

# Write your own code to print tracks in readable format
# 
#

def search():
    search = input("What would you like to know about the album?")
    if lover_album.get(search.lower()) == None:
        print("Invalid Search")
    else:
        print(lover_album.get(search.lower()))

search()

# This is a very basic code segment, how can you improve upon this code?
# To improve upon this we can add a way to get rid of garbage data, we can add extra artists, albums, and genres. We also can add all of these items and a way to pick which artist or album you want to choose. Kind of like changing repositories. 
#

2019

Hacks

  • Answer ALL questions in the code segments
  • Create a venn diagram or other compare and contrast tool related to hashmaps.
    • What are the pro and cons of using this data structure?
    • Dictionary vs List
  • Expand upon the code given to you, possible improvements in comments

  • Build your own album showing features of a python dictionary

  • For Mr. Yeung's class: Justify your favorite Taylor Swift song, answer may effect seed