Nonlinear container

Nonlinear Containers: Efficient Data Structures for Rapid Data Retrieval

Nonlinear containers are advanced data structures designed for efficient data storage and retrieval. They leverage hashing or balanced tree mechanisms (like red - black trees) to enable quick access to elements. These containers are particularly useful when you need to perform frequent lookups, insertions, or deletions. Below is a detailed overview of seven common nonlinear container types, along with their characteristics and typical use cases:

I. Container Types and Their Features

1. HashMap

• Characteristics: HashMap stores key - value pairs with unique keys. It uses the hash value of the key to determine the storage location, enabling fast data access. However, it doesn't support custom sorting.
• Use Cases: Ideal for scenarios requiring quick storage, retrieval, insertion, and deletion of key - value pairs.

• APIs:
  

  // Example of using HashMap
  const hashMap = new HashMap<string, number>();
  hashMap.set('one', 1); // Add a key-value pair
  console.log(hashMap.get('one')); // Retrieve the value for key 'one'
  hashMap.remove('one'); // Remove the key-value pair
  

2. HashSet

• Characteristics: HashSet stores a collection of unique values. It uses the hash value of the value to determine the storage location and allows null values but doesn't support custom sorting.
• Use Cases: Suitable for situations where you need a collection without duplicates or require deduplication.

• APIs:
  

  // Example of using HashSet
  const hashSet = new HashSet<number>();
  hashSet.add(1); // Add a value
  console.log(hashSet.values()); // Retrieve all values
  hashSet.remove(1); // Remove a value
  

3. TreeMap

• Characteristics: TreeMap stores key - value pairs with unique keys. It allows custom sorting based on keys and maintains the order of keys.
• Use Cases: Appropriate for scenarios where you need ordered storage of key - value pairs.

• APIs:
  

  // Example of using TreeMap
  const treeMap = new TreeMap<string, number>();
  treeMap.set('one', 1); // Add a key-value pair
  console.log(treeMap.get('one')); // Retrieve the value for key 'one'
  treeMap.remove('one'); // Remove the key-value pair
  

4. TreeSet

• Characteristics: TreeSet stores a collection of unique values and allows custom sorting based on values. It doesn't recommend storing null values.
• Use Cases: Fits well in situations where you need an ordered collection of values.

• APIs:
  

  // Example of using TreeSet
  const treeSet = new TreeSet<number>();
  treeSet.add(1); // Add a value
  console.log(treeSet.values()); // Retrieve all values
  treeSet.remove(1); // Remove a value
  

5. LightWeightMap

• Characteristics: LightWeightMap stores key - value pairs with unique keys. It uses a more memory - efficient structure and is suitable for scenarios with limited memory.
• Use Cases: Recommended for situations where you need to store key - value pairs and memory efficiency is a priority.

• APIs:
  

  // Example of using LightWeightMap
  const lightWeightMap = new LightWeightMap<string, number>();
  lightWeightMap.set('one', 1); // Add a key-value pair
  console.log(lightWeightMap.get('one')); // Retrieve the value for key 'one'
  lightWeightMap.remove('one'); // Remove the key-value pair
  

6. LightWeightSet

• Characteristics: LightWeightSet stores a collection of unique values. It uses a more memory - efficient structure and is suitable for scenarios with limited memory.
• Use Cases: Ideal for situations where you need a collection without duplicates and memory efficiency is important.

• APIs:
  

  // Example of using LightWeightSet
  const lightWeightSet = new LightWeightSet<number>();
  lightWeightSet.add(1); // Add a value
  console.log(lightWeightSet.values()); // Retrieve all values
  lightWeightSet.remove(1); // Remove a value
  

7. PlainArray

• Characteristics: PlainArray stores key - value pairs with unique keys of type number. It uses a memory - efficient structure and relies on binary search for key lookups.
• Use Cases: Suitable for scenarios where you need to store key - value pairs with number - type keys.

• APIs:
  

  // Example of using PlainArray
  const plainArray = new PlainArray<number>();
  plainArray.add(1, 'one'); // Add a key-value pair
  console.log(plainArray.get(1)); // Retrieve the value for key 1
  plainArray.remove(1); // Remove the key-value pair
  

II. Comparison of Nonlinear Containers

When selecting a nonlinear container, consider the following factors:

• Data Uniqueness: If you need to ensure uniqueness of elements, choose HashSet, TreeSet, LightWeightSet, or LightWeightMap.
• Ordered Storage: For ordered storage of elements, select TreeMap or TreeSet.
• Memory Efficiency: In scenarios with limited memory, LightWeightMap and LightWeightSet are preferable.
• Key Type: If your key type is number and you need a memory - efficient structure, PlainArray is a good choice.