An associative array (also map, mapping, hash, dictionary, finite map,
lookup table, and in query-processing an index or index file) is an
abstract data type composed of a collection of keys and a collection of values, where each key is associated with one value. The operation of finding the value associated with a key is called a lookup or indexing, and this is the most important operation supported by an associative array. The relationship between a key and its value is sometimes called a
mapping or binding. For example, if the value associated with the key "bob" is 7, we say that our array maps "bob" to 7. Associative arrays are very closely related to the mathematical concept of a
function with a finite
domain. As a consequence, a common and important use of associative arrays is in
memoization.
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