Dictionaries
Dictionaries are abstract data structures designed to store data in a key-value format. In a dictionary, each element consists of a key that is unique and used to access the associated value. The key-value pairing allows for rapid lookups, which is one of the primary advantages of using dictionaries. Dictionaries are also commonly referred to as maps, associative arrays, or symbol tables.
While our focus has been on logical data structures, it’s worth noting that dictionaries can also be implemented directly in hardware through what is known as associative memory, or Content-Addressable Memory (CAM).
Associative memories are used for ultra-high-speed search operations. As you might expect, with associative memory, any search operation can be executed in constant time, 
. Although employing associative memories may seem costly and impractical for general algorithmic use, a more feasible approach in software is the use of hashing. Hashing, which was discussed...
