What (who) is associative arrays - definition

DATA TYPE THAT ASSOCIATES KEYS WITH VALUES

Dictionary (data structure); Associative arrays; Map (computer science); Assoc list; Associative container; Map (data structure); Hash array; Hasharray; Key-value association; Key-value data; Associative map; Key–value data; Associative list; Dictionary (computer science); Language support for associative arrays; Map (computing); Associative table

Associative array

In computer science, an associative array, map, symbol table, or dictionary is an abstract data type that stores a collection of (key, value) pairs, such that each possible key appears at most once in the collection. In mathematical terms an associative array is a function with finite domain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associative_array

associative array

<programming> (Or "hash", "map", "dictionary") An array where the indices are not just integers but may be arbitrary strings. awk and its descendants (e.g. Perl) have associative arrays which are implemented using hash coding for faster look-up. (2007-10-02)

Associative algebra

ALGEBRA OVER A RING SUCH THAT MULTIPLICATION IS ASSOCIATIVE

Linear associative algebra; Abelian algebra; R-algebra; Associative Algebra; Associative algebras; Associative R-algebra; Commutative R-algebra; Commutative algebra (structure); Unital associative algebra; Draft:Associative algebra; Bidimension of an associative algebra; Wedderburn principal theorem; Enveloping algebra of an associative algebra

In mathematics, an associative algebra A is an algebraic structure with compatible operations of addition, multiplication (assumed to be associative), and a scalar multiplication by elements in some field K. The addition and multiplication operations together give A the structure of a ring; the addition and scalar multiplication operations together give A the structure of a vector space over K.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associative_algebra

Wikipedia

Associative array

In computer science, an associative array, map, symbol table, or dictionary is an abstract data type that stores a collection of (key, value) pairs, such that each possible key appears at most once in the collection. In mathematical terms, an associative array is a function with finite domain. It supports 'lookup', 'remove', and 'insert' operations.

The dictionary problem is the classic problem of designing efficient data structures that implement associative arrays. The two major solutions to the dictionary problem are hash tables and search trees. In some cases it is also possible to solve the problem using directly addressed arrays, binary search trees, or other more specialized structures.

Many programming languages include associative arrays as primitive data types, and they are available in software libraries for many others. Content-addressable memory is a form of direct hardware-level support for associative arrays.

Associative arrays have many applications including such fundamental programming patterns as memoization and the decorator pattern.

The name does not come from the associative property known in mathematics. Rather, it arises from the fact that values are associated with keys. It is not to be confused with associative processors.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Associative array