View Category
Maps
Declaration

Define an empty map

erlang
Map = dict:new(),
Map = orddict:new(),
Map = gb_trees:empty(),
Map = ets:new(the_map_name, [set, private, {keypos, 1}]),
cpp
Hashtable^ hash = gcnew Hashtable;
Generic::Dictionary<String^, String^>^ dict = gcnew Generic::Dictionary<String^, String^>();
std::map<int, std::string> m;

Define an unmodifiable empty map

erlang

% Erlang data structures are immutable - updating a 'map' sees a modified copy created
Map = dict:new(),
cpp
const std::map<T1,T2> immutable_map_instance_of_type_t1_to_t2;

Define an initial map

Define the map {circle:1, triangle:3, square:4}
erlang
Map = dict:from_list([{circle, 1}, {triangle, 3}, {square, 4}]),
Map0 = dict:new(),

% Erlang variables are 'single-assignment' i.e. they cannot be reassigned
Map1 = dict:store(circle, 1, Map0),
Map2 = dict:store(triangle, 3, Map1),
Map3 = dict:store(square, 4, Map2),
Map0 = gb_trees:empty(),

Map1 = gb_trees:enter(circle, 1, Map0),
Map2 = gb_trees:enter(triangle, 3, Map1),
Map3 = gb_trees:enter(square, 4, Map2),
Map = gb_trees:from_orddict(lists:keysort(1, [{circle, 1}, {triangle, 3}, {square, 4}])),
Map = ets:new(the_map_name, [ordered_set, private, {keypos, 1}]),
ets:insert(Map, [{circle, 1}, {triangle, 3}, {square, 4}]),
cpp
Hashtable^ shapes = gcnew Hashtable;

shapes->Add("circle", 1);
shapes->Add("triangle", 3);
shapes->Add("square", 4);
Generic::Dictionary<String^, int>^ shapes = gcnew Generic::Dictionary<String^, int>();

shapes->Add("circle", 1);
shapes->Add("triangle", 3);
shapes->Add("square", 4);
map<string, int> shapes;

shapes["circle"] = 1;
shapes["triangle"] = 3;
shapes["square"] = 4;
Access

Check if a key exists in a map

Given a map pets {joe:cat,mary:turtle,bill:canary} print "ok" if an pet exists for "mary"
erlang
dict:is_key(mary, Pets) andalso begin io:format("ok~n"), true end.
IsMember = ets:member(Pets, mary), if (IsMember) -> io:format("ok~n") ; true -> false end.
case gb_trees:lookup(mary, Pets) of none -> false ; _ -> io:format("ok~n") end.
cpp
if (pets->ContainsKey("mary")) Console::WriteLine("ok");
if (pets.find("mary") != pets.end()){
std::cout << "ok" << std::endl;
}
if (pets.count("mary") > 0)
cout << "ok" << endl;

Retrieve a value from a map

Given a map pets {joe:cat,mary:turtle,bill:canary} print the pet for "joe" ("cat")
erlang
dict:is_key(joe, Pets) andalso begin io:format("~w~n", [dict:fetch(joe, Pets)]), true end.
case dict:find(joe, Pets) of error -> false ; {ok, Pet} -> io:format("~w~n", [Pet]) end.
IsMember = ets:member(Pets, joe), if (IsMember) -> io:format("~w~n", [ets:lookup_element(Pets, joe, 2)]) ; true -> false end.
case ets:match(Pets, {joe, '$1'}) of [] -> false ; [[Pet]] -> io:format("~w~n", [Pet]) end.
case gb_trees:lookup(joe, Pets) of none -> false ; {value, Pet} -> io:format("~w~n", [Pet]) end.
cpp
if (pets->ContainsKey("joe")) Console::WriteLine(pets["joe"]);
cout << pets["joe"] << endl;

Add an entry to a map

Given an empty pets map, add the mapping from "rob" to "dog"
erlang
Pets1 = dict:store(rob, dog, Pets0).
ets:insert(Pets, {rob, dog}).
Pets1 = gb_trees:enter(rob, dog, Pets0).
cpp
pets->Add("rob", "dog");
pets["rob"] = "dog";

Remove an entry from a map

Given a map pets {joe:cat,mary:turtle,bill:canary} remove the mapping for "bill" and print "canary"
erlang
Pet = dict:fetch(bill, Pets0), Pets1 = dict:erase(bill, Pets0), io:format("~w~n", [Pet]),
Pet = ets:lookup_element(Pets, bill, 2), ets:delete(Pets, bill), io:format("~w~n", [Pet]),
{value, Pet} = gb_trees:lookup(bill, Pets0), Pets1 = gb_trees:delete(bill, Pets0), io:format("~w~n", [Pet]),
cpp
if (pets->ContainsKey("bill"))
{
String^ value = safe_cast<String^>(pets["bill"]); pets->Remove("bill");
Console::WriteLine("{0}", value);
}
Algorithms

Create a histogram map from a list

Given the list [a,b,a,c,b,b], produce a map {a:2, b:3, c:1} which contains the count of each unique item in the list
csharp
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;

// This is a "functional" C# approach

// NOTE: In C# "maps" are of type Dictionary<Tkey, TValue>
// so our histogram map is of type Dictionary<object, int>
public class HistogramMap {
public Dictionary<object, int> FromList(List<object> list) {
// The "Aggregate" method works like "inject" in many other languages.
return list.Aggregate(
new Dictionary<object, int>(),
(map, obj) => {
// If this is the first time we've seen this obj, set the count to 0
if (!map.ContainsKey(obj)) map[obj] = 0;

// Increment the count
map[obj]++;

// Return the map for the next iteration.
// NOTE: This does NOT return from our "FromList" method
return map;
}
);
}

public static void Main() {
// Create our Histogram Map from a new list
var map = new HistogramMap().FromList(
new List<object>() { 'a', 'b', 'a', 'c', 'b', 'b' }
);

// This just prints the result
System.Console.WriteLine (
string.Join (", ",
// "Select" works like "map" or "collect" in many other languages
map.Select( kvp =>
string.Format("{0} : {1}", kvp.Key, kvp.Value)
).ToArray()
)
);
}
}
new[] {"a","b","a","c","b","b"}
.GroupBy(s => s)
.Select(s => new { Value = s.Key, Count = s.Count() })
.ToList()
.ForEach(e => Console.WriteLine("{0} : {1} ", e.Value, e.Count));
erlang
% Imperative Solution
Histogram = histogram(List),
% Functional (1) Solution
Histogram = histogram(List),
lists:foldl(fun(Elem, OldDict) ->
dict:update_counter(Elem, 1, OldDict)
end,
dict:new(),
[a,b,a,c,b,b])).
cpp
for each(String^ entry in input) hash[entry] = hash->ContainsKey(entry)
? Convert::ToInt32(hash[entry]->ToString()) + 1 : 1;
for each(String^ entry in input) dict[entry] = dict->ContainsKey(entry) ? dict[entry] + 1 : 1;
map<string,int> hist;
for (auto e: { "a","b","a","c","b","b" })
++hist[e];
for (auto e: hist)
cout << e.first << " : " << e.second << endl;

Categorise a list

Given the list [one, two, three, four, five] produce a map {3:[one, two], 4:[four, five], 5:[three]} which sorts elements into map entries based on their length
csharp
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
public class ListCategorizer {
public static void Main() {
var list = new List<string>() { "one", "two", "three", "four", "five" };
var categories = list.GroupBy(el => el.Length)
.ToDictionary( g => g.Key, // key
g => g.ToList() ); // value
}
}
erlang
% Imperative Solution
CatList = categorise(List),
% Functional (1) Solution
CatList = categorise(List),
cpp
for each(String^ entry in input)
{
key = entry->Length;
if (!hash->ContainsKey(key)) hash[key] = gcnew ArrayList;
safe_cast<ArrayList^>(hash[key])->Add(entry);
}