This question was asked to me in an interview. I think the only way to get best solution is SOF. So the question was “How would you implement a custom HashMap in java(Assume there is no such data structure called HashMap)“. The only answer I could think of was by implementing Associative Arrays (but then again, Java doesnt have associative arrays). Could you experts please pour in your thoughts on this question?
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Answer
Short Answer:
It would be an array of arrays (or Lists).
Object[][] map;
where map[bucketIndex] would return the ‘bucket’.
When inserting something you need a function to calculate bucketIndex this would use the hashcode of the inserted object.
Boom done!
🙂