Could not Understand the usage of map in c++ - c++

Map is a container class that is used to store the aggregate data... Its very easy to retreive the datas stored in it as it uses hash algorithm for retrieval.
map is a key value pair...The data can be retrieved with the corresponding key...
Here in this declaration below I'm defining that the key has to be integer(4 bytes) and data as the string value...
typedef map<INT32U,string> EventMapType;
I searched for the example program of using map in wikipedia... But i could not understand the example given over there..I need to know how the datas and keys are stored in the map and how it is retreived through the key...I am new to MFC...

Beata,
I just did a quick google and came up with http://erunways.com/c-using-the-standard-template-library-stl-map-example/ I won't just copy paste that code here... it's only about 50 lines.
I suggest you read through that code, and then compile and run it (as is). If you run into problems or just stuff that doesn't make sense to you, then ask specific questions here. K?
Cheers. Keith.

map does not use hashing. It can't, because the constraints do not require hashable keys. It is ordinarily implemented as a binary search tree, sorted by key. Thus, it requires keys be <-comparable
In contrast, C++0x will provide an unordered_map, which does use hashing.
If you want specific help, you should tell us what code you've tried so far, and which examples you don't understand.

the STL's map class allows you to store data by any type of key instead of simply by a numerical key, the way you must access an array or vector. So instead of having to compute a hash function and then access an array, you can just let the map class do it for you.
typedef map<INT32U,string> MyEventMapType;
MyEventMapType EventMapType;
Use below as reference code.
To Store values :
EventMapType[key1] = string1 ;
EventMapType[key2] = string2 ;
EventMapType[key3] = string3 ;
To check the value at key1 ...
if(EventMapType.find("key1") == EventMapType.end())
{
std::cout<<"string1 is not in the map!"<<endl;
}
For more read the documentation
Iterators can also be used as a general means for accessing the data stored in a map; you can use the basic technique from before of getting an iterator:

Related

Can I reinterpret a memory mapped file of key-value pairs as a map in order to sort them?

I have a memory mapped file that contains key-value pairs. Both the key and value are uint32_t, and all the keys and values are stored in the file in binary, where a key immediately proceeds the value. The file contains only these pairs, no delimiters.
I want to be able to sort all of these key-value pairs by increasing key.
The following just compiled in my code:
struct FileAsMap { map<uint32_t, uint32_t> keyValueMap; };
const FileAsMap* fileAsMap = reinterpret_cast<FileAsMap*>(mmappedData);
but I don't really know what to do from here, since by definition the map container keeps a strict weak ordering of the pairs by key. If I just reinterpret the mapped file as a map, how can I get the pairs to order?
it's not an answer but explanations don't fit into comment limitations.
The keys in a map are usually unique (at least in std::map they are). But maps in general differ one from another in method they sort stored keys. For example std::map is based on a balanced binary tree with average complexity of retrieving a given key equal to O(ln(n)) where n is a number of elements in the map. Or e.g. std::unordered_map is a hashmap internally with the average access time = O(1). That is it looks for a key in constant time regardless of number of elements inside.
In any case all these data containers demand dedicated internal in-memory structure which practically never looks like a simple stream of key-value pairs. That's why I've told above in the first comment that it's almost impossible to reuse one of standard maps as a convenient data accessor for mmap-ed data w/o prior read and unpack the data stream.
But you can create your own map-like class which would iterate over data in mmap-ed area and would check in its operator[](size_t i) if a stored key matches the requested one. Iguess that a simplest implementation would take a single screen of code.
But beware: sequental scan is a relatively expensive operation, so if you got enough elements in the file, it could become unacceptable slow. In this case you'll need some optimized indexing. For example all keys are read in the beginning of processing and an indexing array is built. But all these questions heavily depend on task details, ao it's better to stop explanations now.
If you have any further questions feel free to ask. Of course a good question assumes that you have already studied the subject and now have encountered a particular problem that you can't solve yoursef
There are a lot of reasons why the answer is no. The two simplest are:
Maps are a structure that stores data in a form in which it's already sorted. Your data isn't already sorted, so it's simply not a map.
The map class has its own internal data structure that it uses to store maps. Unless your file replicates this internal structure perfectly (which it almost certainly can't since it likely includes pointers into memory) the map class will misunderstand the data in the file.
How did u serialize the data to the file?
Assuming that you serialized a struct consisting of maps, you'd de-serialize as below:
FileAsMap* fileAsMap = reinterpret_cast<FileAsMap*>(mmappedData);
Gives access to entire structure (blob).
(*fileAsMap).keyValueMap gives access to map.

Proper Qt data structure for storing and accessing struct pointers

I have a certain struct:
struct MyClass::MyStruct
{
Statistics stats;
Oject *objPtr;
bool isActive;
QDateTime expiration;
};
For which I need to store pointers to in a private container. I will be getting objects from client code for which I need to return a pointer to the MyStruct. For example:
QList<MyStruct*> MyClass::structPtr( Statistics stats )
{
// Return all MyStruct* for which myStruct->stats == stats (== is overloaded)
}
or
QList<MyStruct*> MyClass::structPtr( Object *objPtr )
{
// Return all MyStruct* for which myStruct->objPtr == objPtr
}
Right now I'm storing these in a QLinkedList<MyStruct*> so that I can have fast insertions, and lookups roughly equivalent to QList<MyStruct*>. Ideally I would like to be able to perform lookups faster, without losing my insertion speed. This leads me to look at QHash, but I am not sure how I would use a QHash when I'm only storing values without keys, or even if that is a good idea.
What is the proper Qt/C++ way to address a problem such as this? Ideally, lookup times should be <= log(n). Would a QHash be a good idea here? If so, what should I use for a key and/or value?
If you want to use QHash for fast lookups, the hash's key type must be the same as the search token type. For example, if you want to find elements by Statistics value, your hash should be QHash<Statistics, MyStruct*>.
If you can live with only looking up your data in one specific way, a QHash should be fine for you. Though, in your case where you're pulling lists out, you may want to investigate QMultiHash and its .values() member. However, it's important to note, from the documentation:
The key type of a QHash must provide operator==() and a global hash function called qHash()
If you need to be able to pull these lists based on different information at different times you might just be better off iterating over the lists. All of Qt's containers provide std-style iterators, including its hash maps.

C++: insert into std::map without knowing a key

I need to insert values into std::map (or it's equivalent) to any free position and then get it's key (to remove/modify later). Something like:
std::map<int, std::string> myMap;
const int key = myMap.insert("hello");
Is it possibly to do so with std::map or is there some appropriate container for that?
Thank you.
In addition to using a set, you can keep a list of allocated (or free)
keys, and find a new key before inserting. For a map indexed by
int, you can simply take the last element, and increment its key. But
I rather think I'd go with a simple std::vector; if deletion isn't
supported, you can do something simple like:
int key = myVector.size();
myVector.push_back( newEntry );
If you need to support deletions, then using a vector of some sort of
"maybe" type (boost::optional, etc.—you probably already have
one in your toolbox, maybe under the name of Fallible or Maybe) might be
appropriate. Depending on use patterns (number of deletions compared to
total entries, etc.), you may want to search the vector in order to
reuse entries. If your really ambitious, you could keep a bitmap of the
free entries, setting a bit each time you delete and entry, and
resetting it whenever you reuse the space.
You can add object to an std::set, and then later put the whole set into a map. But no, you can't put a value into a map without a key.
The closest thing to what you're trying to do is probably
myMap[myMap.size()] = "some string";
The only advantage this has over std::set is that you can pass the integer indexes around to other modules without them needing to know the type of std::set<Foo>::iterator or similar.
It is impossible. Such an operation would require intricate knowledge of the key type to know which keys are available. For example, std::map would have to increment int values for int maps or append to strings for string maps.
You could use a std::set and drop keying altogether.
If you want to achieve something similar to automatically generated primary keys in SQL databases than you can maintain a counter and use it to generate a unique key. But perhaps std::set is what you really need.

QMap::insertMulti or QMultiMap?

What should i use between QMap::insertMulti and QMultiMap to handle :
2 -> abc
2 -> def
3 -> ghi
3 -> jkl
What's the difference enter the 2 solutions ?
Reading Container Classes:
QMap<Key, T>
This provides a dictionary (associative array) that maps keys of type Key to values of type T. Normally each key is associated with a single value. QMap stores its data in Key order; if order doesn't matter QHash is a faster alternative.
QMultiMap<Key, T>
This is a convenience subclass of QMap that provides a nice interface for multi-valued maps, i.e. maps where one key can be associated with multiple values.
it looks like both can do the job. In this document there is also Algorithmic Complexity section where you can see that both classes have the same complexity.
I would choose QMultiMap just to better document the fact I'm going to hold multiple values with the same key.
Both can serve this purpose. QMultiMap is actually a subclass of QMap.
If you are willing to have multiple values for single key, you can use:
QMap : for inserting use insertMulti
QMultiMap : for inserting use insert
If you are willing to have single value for single key, you can use:
QMap : for inserting use insert
QMultiMap : for inserting use replace
You can see that both can server both purpose. But, each have unique default behavior which matches its name. Also, each have some methods or operators which is convenient for single/multi.
It is better to choose type depending on your need. It is a good practice. For example, if you use QMap for storing single key multiple values, some other person who is going through your class members might get the impression that you are willing to save single key value pairs (from the data type)
Similarly, if you use QMultiMap, anyone reading the definition can get the idea that the data will have multiple value for same key.

Multiple keys Hash Table (unordered_map)

I need to use multiple keys(int type) to store and retrieve a single value from a hash table. I would use multiple key to index a single item. I need fast insertion and look up for the hash table. By the way, I am not allowed to use the Boost library in the implementation.
How could I do that?
If you mean that two ints form a single key then unordered_map<std::pair<int,int>, value_type>. If you want to index the same set of data by multiple keys then look at Boost.MultiIndex.
If the key to your container is comprised of the combination of multiple ints, you could use boost::tuple as your key, to encapsulate the ints without more work on your part. This holds provided your count of key int subcomponents is fixed.
Easiest way is probably to keep a map of pointers/indexes to the elements in a list.
A few more details are needed here though, do you need to support deletion? how are the elements setup? Can you use boost::shared pointers? (rather helpful if you need to support deletion)
I'm assuming that the value object in this case is large, or there is some other reason you can't simply duplicate values in a regular map.
If its always going to be a combination for retrieval.
Then its better to form a single compound key using multiple keys.
You can do this either
Storing the key as a concatenated string of ints like
(int1,int2,int3) => data
Using a higher data type like uint64_t where in u can add individual values to form a key
// Refer comment below for the approach