What are some alternatives to hashmaps in programming?

What are some alternatives to hashmaps in programming?

There are several alternatives to hashmaps, such as trees, arrays, and linked lists. Each has its own use cases.

Can you explain when to use a tree instead of a hashmap?

Trees are useful when you need to maintain a sorted order of elements or perform range queries efficiently.

What about using arrays? When would they be a better choice?

Arrays are great for situations where you have a fixed size and need fast access by index, but they lack the flexibility of hashmaps.

Are there any performance considerations I should be aware of?

Yes, hashmaps generally offer average O(1) time complexity for lookups, while trees can offer O(log n) for balanced trees, which is slower.