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 dictionary.

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 O1, bc each key only has one value.

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)  
{1, 2, 3}

What do you notice in the output?

  • The output is three numbers.
  • These numbers are ordered from least to greatest.

Why do you think Sets are in the same tech talk as Hashmaps/Hashtables?

  • I think that sets are in the same tech talk as Hashmaps/Hashtables because sets also can't have duplicates

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"
    }
}

# Printing the dictionary
print(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?

  • Strings
  • Integers
  • Dictonary
print(lover_album.get('tracks'))
# or
print(lover_album['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'}
{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'}
print(lover_album.get('tracks')[4])
# or
print(lover_album['tracks'][4])
The Man
The Man
lover_album["producer"] = ['Taylor Swift', 'Jack Antonoff', 'Joel Little', 'Taylor Swift', 'Louis Bell', 'Frank Dukes']

# Printing the dictionary
print(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'}, '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?

  • you can use a set and make the string a set
lover_album["tracks"].update({19: "All Of The Girls You Loved Before"})

# Printing the dictionary
print(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', 19: 'All Of The Girls You Loved Before'}, 'producer': ['Taylor Swift', 'Jack Antonoff', 'Joel Little', 'Taylor Swift', 'Louis Bell', 'Frank Dukes']}

How would add an additional genre to the dictionary, like electropop?

  • its a list
for k,v in lover_album.items(): # iterate using a for loop for key and value
    print(str(k) + ": " + str(v))
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', 19: 'All Of The Girls You Loved Before'}
producer: ['Taylor Swift', 'Jack Antonoff', 'Joel Little', 'Taylor Swift', 'Louis Bell', 'Frank Dukes']
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?
# Allowing users to look for specific terms in the dictionary (such as album title, artist, year, genre, tracks, etc.) rather than just a single key will give the search function more utility. Use more detailed error notifications to explain to the user why their search was unsuccessful.

Hacks

  • Answer ALL questions in the code segments
  • Create a diagram or comparison illustration (Canva).
    • 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

Pros and Cons of Hashtables

image

Dictionary Vs List

image

Own Album Using A Python Dictionary

sreejas_favs = {
    "genres": ["R&B", "Rap","Pop"],
    "artists": ["Taylor Swift", "The Weekend", "Chase Atlanic", "Ariana Grande", "Drake", "Bad Bunny"],
    "songs": {
        1: "Willow",
        2: "Midnight Rain",
        3: "Save Your Tears",
        4: "Can't Blame Me",
        5: "Into You",
        6: "WAIT FOR YOU",
        7: "Middle of the Ocean",
        8: "Me Porto Bonito",
        9: "Bad Blood",
        10: "Starbou",
        11: "Blinding Lights",
        12: "ESCORT",
        13: "Sweet Nothing",
        14: "Lavender Haze",
        15: "Repeat After Me",
    }
}

def print_sreeja_favs():
    print("Genres:")
    for genre in sreejas_favs["genres"]:
        print(genre)
    
    print("\nArtists:")
    for artist in sreejas_favs["artists"]:
        print(artist)
    
    print("\nSongs:")
    for number, title in sreejas_favs["songs"].items():
        print(str(number)+'. '+title)
   

print_sreeja_favs()
Genres:
R&B
Rap
Pop

Artists:
Taylor Swift
The Weekend
Chase Atlanic
Ariana Grande
Drake
Bad Bunny

Songs:
1. Willow
2. Midnight Rain
3. Save Your Tears
4. Can't Blame Me
5. Into You
6. WAIT FOR YOU
7. Middle of the Ocean
8. Me Porto Bonito
9. Bad Blood
10. Starbou
11. Blinding Lights
12. ESCORT
13. Sweet Nothing
14. Lavender Haze
15. Repeat After Me

My Favorite Taylor Swift Song

Hands down, Willow is my Taylor Swift song of all time. I love how simple and calming the music is. No matter what mood I'm in, Willow always calms me down. Also, the metaphor of the water being Taylor and the ship, a man, causing ripples in her life is very creative. In addition, Taylor's voice is so soft and beautiful in this song. The song's overall simplicity and metaphors make it breathtaking. I also have a personal connection with this song. Last year, I took AP Euro and for this class I had to take long and tiring textbook notes. I was up at 1:00 every day doing the notes. Near the end of my notetaking, when I was stressed and ready to give up, I always listened to Willow. It always managed to calm me down with the beautiful music. And before I went to bed, it was always the last song I listened to. It always made me fall asleep with a smile.