Introduction:
In the world of Dart programming, maps are an essential data structure for organizing and manipulating key-value pairs efficiently. Understanding how to work with Dart maps is crucial for building robust applications. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll delve into Dart maps, exploring their creation, manipulation, and common operations with detailed examples.
In Dart, a map is a collection of key-value pairs where each key is unique. Dart’s map is represented by the Map class.
Here’s a basic example of how to use a map in Dart:
dart
void main() { // Creating a map with initial values Map<String, int> ages = { 'John': 30, 'Alice': 25, 'Bob': 35, }; // Adding a new key-value pair ages['Emily'] = 28; // Accessing values using keys print('John\'s age: ${ages['John']}'); // Iterating over the map ages.forEach((key, value) { print('$key is $value years old'); }); // Checking if a key exists if (ages.containsKey('Alice')) { print('Alice is in the map'); } // Removing a key-value pair ages.remove('Bob'); // Clearing the map ages.clear(); }
Creating a Dart map involves a few simple steps.
Here’s a step-by-step guide:
Dart’s core libraries provide built-in support for maps, so you typically don’t need to import any additional libraries. However, if you’re working with Dart web or Flutter, you might import dart:core for basic functionality and dart:collection if you need to use specialized map implementations like LinkedHashMap.
dart
import 'dart:core'; // For basic functionality
To create a map, declare a variable of type Map. You specify the types of the keys and values within angle brackets (<>).
For example, to create a map that maps strings to integers:
dart
Map<String, int> myMap;
For example:
dart
Map<String, int> ages = { 'Omar': 20, 'Gogo': 17, 'Adam': 4, };
This creates a map called ages with three entries: ‘John’ maps to 30, ‘Alice’ maps to 25, and ‘Bob’ maps to 35.
You can add key-value pairs to the map using square bracket notation ([]). For example:
dart
ages['Abdo'] = 26;
This adds a new entry to the ages map, mapping ‘Abdo’ to 26.
You can access the values stored in the map using their corresponding keys. For example:
dart
int omarsAge = ages['Omar'];
This retrieves the value associated with the key ‘John’ from the ages map.
You can iterate over the map to process each key-value pair. Dart provides various methods for iteration, such as forEach, for-in loop, or using map methods like keys, values, or entries.
You can manipulate the map by adding, removing, or updating key-value pairs as needed using methods like putIfAbsent, remove, clear, etc.
You can check if a particular key exists in the map using the containsKey method.
If you no longer need the map and want to free up memory, you can set the map variable to null or simply let it go out of scope.
That’s it! Following these steps, we can easily create and work with maps in Dart.
Here’s a complete example of creating a Dart map along with explanations for each step:
dart
void main() { // Step 1: Declare a Map variable // Declare a map variable with String keys and int values Map<String, int> ages; // Step 2: Initialize the Map // Initialize the map with some initial key-value pairs ages = { 'Omar': 20, 'Gogo': 17, 'Adam': 4, }; // Step 3 (Optional): Add Entries to the Map // Add a new entry to the map ages['Elin'] = 4; // Step 4: Access Values from the Map // Access the value associated with the 'John' key int omarsAge = ages['Omar']; print('Omar\'s age: $omarssAge'); // Step 5: Iterate Over the Map // Iterate over the map and print each key-value pair ages.forEach((key, value) { print('$key is $value years old'); }); // Step 6 (Optional): Manipulate the Map // Remove a key-value pair from the map ages.remove('Adam'); // Step 7 (Optional): Check if a Key Exists // Check if a key exists in the map if (ages.containsKey('Gogo')) { print('Gogo is in the map'); } // Step 8 (Optional): Dispose the Map // Set the map variable to null to release memory ages = null; }
Declare a Map Variable (ages): We declare a map variable named ages with keys of type String and values of type int.
Initialize the Map: We initialize the ages map with some initial key-value pairs using curly braces {}.
Add Entries to the Map (Optional): We add a new entry to the map by assigning a value to a key using square bracket notation [].
Access Values from the Map: We access the value associated with the key ‘John’ and store it in a variable johnsAge. Then, we print it.
Iterate Over the Map: We iterate over the map using the forEach method to print each key-value pair.
Manipulate the Map (Optional): We remove a key-value pair from the map using the remove method.
Check if a Key Exists (Optional): We check if the key ‘Alice’ exists in the map using the containsKey method.
Dispose the Map (Optional): Finally, we set the map variable to null to release memory, though this step is optional as Dart automatically manages memory.
In Dart, there are several ways to create a map. Here are the main methods:
Dart supports map literals, which are defined using curly braces {}. Inside the curly braces, you specify key-value pairs separated by commas.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = { 'Omar': 20, 'Gogo': 17, 'Adam': 4, };
You can use the Map() constructor to create an empty map, and then add entries later.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = Map(); ages['Omar'] = 20; ages['Gogo'] = 17;
Dart provides a constructor fromIterable() that creates a map from an iterable.
dart
List<String> names = ['Omar', 'Gogo', 'Adam']; Map<String, int> ages = Map.fromIterable(names, key: (name) => name, value: (_) => 30);
This example creates a map where each name in the list names becomes a key, and the value associated with each key is set to 30.
Dart 2.13 introduced the fromEntries() constructor, which creates a map from a list of key-value pairs (MapEntry objects).
dart
List<MapEntry<String, int>> entries = [ MapEntry('John', 30), MapEntry('Alice', 25), MapEntry('Bob', 35), ]; Map<String, int> ages = Map.fromEntries(entries);
Dart 2.15 introduced the of() constructor, which creates a map from an iterable of key-value pairs.
dart
Iterable<MapEntry<String, int>> entries = [ MapEntry('John', 30), MapEntry('Alice', 25), MapEntry('Bob', 35), ]; Map<String, int> ages = Map.of(Map<String, int>.fromEntries(entries));
This example is quite similar to fromEntries(), but of() offers a more concise way of creating a map from an iterable.
Choose the method that suits your use case and coding style best. Each method has its advantages depending on the specific scenario you’re dealing with.
Here’s a complete example demonstrating each way to create a Dart map along with explanations for each method:
dart
void main() { // Method 1: Using Map Literals // Creating a map with initial values using map literals Map<String, int> agesMapLiteral = { 'John': 30, 'Alice': 25, 'Bob': 35, }; // Method 2: Using the Map() constructor // Creating an empty map and adding entries later Map<String, int> agesMapConstructor = Map(); agesMapConstructor['John'] = 30; agesMapConstructor['Alice'] = 25; // Method 3: Using fromIterable() constructor // Creating a map from an iterable (e.g., a list) List<String> names = ['John', 'Alice', 'Bob']; Map<String, int> agesFromIterable = Map.fromIterable(names, key: (name) => name, value: (_) => 30); // Method 4: Using fromEntries() constructor (Dart 2.13 and later) // Creating a map from a list of key-value pairs (MapEntry objects) List<MapEntry<String, int>> entries = [ MapEntry('John', 30), MapEntry('Alice', 25), MapEntry('Bob', 35), ]; Map<String, int> agesFromEntries = Map.fromEntries(entries); // Method 5: Using the of() constructor (Dart 2.15 and later) // Creating a map from an iterable of key-value pairs Iterable<MapEntry<String, int>> entriesIterable = [ MapEntry('John', 30), MapEntry('Alice', 25), MapEntry('Bob', 35), ]; Map<String, int> agesFromOf = Map.of(Map<String, int>.fromEntries(entriesIterable)); // Printing out each map print('Method 1: Using Map Literals'); printMap(agesMapLiteral); print('Method 2: Using the Map() constructor'); printMap(agesMapConstructor); print('Method 3: Using fromIterable() constructor'); printMap(agesFromIterable); print('Method 4: Using fromEntries() constructor'); printMap(agesFromEntries); print('Method 5: Using the of() constructor'); printMap(agesFromOf); } // Function to print out the contents of a map void printMap(Map<String, int> map) { map.forEach((key, value) { print('$key: $value'); }); print('\n'); }
Here are all the methods of creating a Dart map, along with explanations for each method:
Explanation: Dart supports map literals, which allow you to define a map with initial key-value pairs using curly braces {}.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = { 'John': 30, 'Alice': 25, 'Bob': 35, };
Explanation: Dart provides a constructor Map() to create an empty map, which you can populate with entries later using square bracket notation [].
dart
Map<String, int> ages = Map(); ages['John'] = 30; ages['Alice'] = 25;
Explanation: This constructor creates a map from an iterable (e.g., a list). It requires two functions: one to extract keys and another to extract values from each element in the iterable.
dart
List<String> names = ['John', 'Alice', 'Bob']; Map<String, int> ages = Map.fromIterable(names, key: (name) => name, value: (_) => 30);
Explanation: Dart 2.13 introduced the fromEntries() constructor, which creates a map from a list of key-value pairs (MapEntry objects).
dart
List<MapEntry<String, int>> entries = [ MapEntry('John', 30), MapEntry('Alice', 25), MapEntry('Bob', 35), ]; Map<String, int> ages = Map.fromEntries(entries);
Explanation: Dart 2.15 introduced the of() constructor, which creates a map from an iterable of key-value pairs.
dart
Iterable<MapEntry<String, int>> entries = [ MapEntry('John', 30), MapEntry('Alice', 25), MapEntry('Bob', 35), ]; Map<String, int> ages = Map.of(Map<String, int>.fromEntries(entries));
Each method has its advantages depending on your specific use case. Choose the one that suits your scenario best in terms of readability, performance, and code maintainability.
Dart’s Map class provides a variety of operations and methods to manipulate and work with maps. Here are some of the most commonly used operations and methods along with explanations for each:
Insertion: Adding new key-value pairs to the map.
Access: Retrieving values associated with specific keys.
Deletion: Removing key-value pairs from the map.
Iteration: Iterating over the map to process each key-value pair.
Checking: Checking if a key exists in the map.
Updating: Modifying the value associated with a key.
Usage: map[key]
Explanation: Accesses the value associated with the specified key in the map. If the key is not present, it returns null.
Usage: map.putIfAbsent(key, () => value)
Explanation: Adds a new key-value pair to the map if the key is not already present. If the key exists, it returns the existing value; otherwise, it inserts the key with the specified value.
Usage: map.remove(key)
Explanation: Removes the entry associated with the specified key from the map if it exists.
Usage: map.clear()
Explanation: Removes all key-value pairs from the map, leaving it empty.
Usage: map.containsKey(key)
Explanation: Returns true if the map contains the specified key; otherwise, returns false.
Usage: map.forEach((key, value) { /* your logic */ })
Explanation: Iterates over each key-value pair in the map and applies the provided function to each pair.
Usage: map.keys
Explanation: Returns an iterable containing all the keys in the map.
Usage: map.values
Explanation: Returns an iterable containing all the values in the map.
Usage: map.length
Explanation: Returns the number of key-value pairs in the map.
Usage: map.isEmpty
Explanation: Returns true if the map is empty; otherwise, returns false.
Usage: map.isNotEmpty
Explanation: Returns true if the map is not empty; otherwise, returns false.
These are some of the fundamental operations and methods available for working with Dart maps. They provide the necessary functionality to manipulate, access, and iterate over key-value pairs efficiently.
Let’s create a complete example demonstrating various operations and methods used with Dart maps, along with explanations for each:
dart
void main() { // Creating a map with initial values Map<String, int> ages = { 'John': 30, 'Alice': 25, 'Bob': 35, }; // 1. Insertion Operation: Adding a new key-value pair ages['Emily'] = 28; // 2. Access Operation: Retrieving a value using a key int johnsAge = ages['John']; print('John\'s age: $johnsAge'); // 3. Deletion Operation: Removing a key-value pair ages.remove('Bob'); // 4. Iteration Operation: Iterating over the map print('Iterating over the map:'); ages.forEach((key, value) { print('$key is $value years old'); }); // 5. Checking Operation: Checking if a key exists if (ages.containsKey('Alice')) { print('Alice is in the map'); } else { print('Alice is not in the map'); } // 6. Updating Operation: Modifying the value associated with a key ages['John'] = 31; // John's birthday print('John\'s age after update: ${ages['John']}'); // 7. Other Methods: length, isEmpty, isNotEmpty print('Number of entries in the map: ${ages.length}'); print('Is the map empty? ${ages.isEmpty ? 'Yes' : 'No'}'); print('Is the map not empty? ${ages.isNotEmpty ? 'Yes' : 'No'}'); }
Insertion Operation: We add a new entry to the ages map by assigning a value to a new key (‘Emily’) using square bracket notation [].
Access Operation: We retrieve the value associated with the key ‘John’ and store it in the variable johnsAge. Then, we print it.
Deletion Operation: We remove the entry associated with the key ‘Bob’ from the ages map using the remove() method.
Iteration Operation: We iterate over the ages map using the forEach() method and print each key-value pair.
Checking Operation: We check if the key ‘Alice’ exists in the ages map using the containsKey() method.
Updating Operation: We update the value associated with the key ‘John’ to reflect his new age by assigning a new value to the existing key.
Other Methods: We demonstrate the usage of other methods like length, isEmpty, and isNotEmpty to get information about the map’s size and whether it’s empty or not.
Certainly! Below are the explanations and code examples for each of the commonly used methods with Dart maps:
Usage: map[key]
Explanation: Accesses the value associated with the specified key in the map. If the key is not present, it returns null.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; int johnsAge = ages['John']; // accessing value using key print('John\'s age: $johnsAge'); // Output: John's age: 30
Usage: map.putIfAbsent(key, () => value)
Explanation: Adds a new key-value pair to the map if the key is not already present. If the key exists, it returns the existing value; otherwise, it inserts the key with the specified value.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; int bobsAge = ages.putIfAbsent('Bob', () => 35); // Adding new key-value pair print('Bob\'s age: $bobsAge'); // Output: Bob's age: 35
Usage: map.remove(key)
Explanation: Removes the entry associated with the specified key from the map if it exists.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; ages.remove('Alice'); // Removing a key-value pair print(ages); // Output: {John: 30}
Usage: map.clear()
Explanation: Removes all key-value pairs from the map, leaving it empty.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; ages.clear(); // Clearing the map print(ages.isEmpty); // Output: true
Usage: map.containsKey(key)
Explanation: Returns true if the map contains the specified key; otherwise, returns false.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; bool containsJohn = ages.containsKey('John'); // Checking if key exists print('Contains John: $containsJohn'); // Output: Contains John: true
Usage: map.forEach((key, value) { /* your logic */ })
Explanation: Iterates over each key-value pair in the map and applies the provided function to each pair.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; ages.forEach((key, value) { print('$key is $value years old'); }); // Output: // John is 30 years old // Alice is 25 years old
Usage: map.keys
Explanation: Returns an iterable containing all the keys in the map.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; Iterable<String> keys = ages.keys; print(keys); // Output: (John, Alice)
Usage: map.values
Explanation: Returns an iterable containing all the values in the map.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; Iterable<int> values = ages.values; print(values); // Output: (30, 25)
Usage: map.length
Explanation: Returns the number of key-value pairs in the map.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; int mapLength = ages.length; print(mapLength); // Output: 2
Usage: map.isEmpty
Explanation: Returns true if the map is empty; otherwise, returns false.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {}; bool empty = ages.isEmpty; print(empty); // Output: true
Usage: map.isNotEmpty
Explanation: Returns true if the map is not empty; otherwise, returns false.
dart
Map<String, int> ages = {'John': 30, 'Alice': 25}; bool notEmpty = ages.isNotEmpty; print(notEmpty); // Output: true
These methods and properties provide essential functionality for working with Dart maps efficiently.
dart
import 'dart:io'; void main() { // Create an empty map to store contacts (name -> phone number) Map<String, String> contacts = {}; // Main loop of the application while (true) { print('\nWelcome to the Contacts App!'); print('1. Add a contact'); print('2. Search for a contact'); print('3. Delete a contact'); print('4. List all contacts'); print('5. Exit'); // Prompt the for their choice stdout.write('Enter your choice: '); String choice = stdin.readLineSync()!; switch (choice) { case '1': addContact(contacts); break; case '2': searchContact(contacts); break; case '3': deleteContact(contacts); break; case '4': listContacts(contacts); break; case '5': print('Exiting the Contacts App. Goodbye!'); return; default: print('Invalid choice. Please try again.'); } } } // Function to add a new contact void addContact(Map<String, String> contacts) { stdout.write('Enter the name of the contact: '); String name = stdin.readLineSync()!; stdout.write('Enter the phone number: '); String phoneNumber = stdin.readLineSync()!; contacts[name] = phoneNumber; print('Contact added successfully!'); } // Function to search for a contact by name void searchContact(Map<String, String> contacts) { stdout.write('Enter the name of the contact to search: '); String name = stdin.readLineSync()!; if (contacts.containsKey(name)) { print('Phone number for $name: ${contacts[name]}'); } else { print('Contact not found!'); } } // Function to delete a contact by name void deleteContact(Map<String, String> contacts) { stdout.write('Enter the name of the contact to delete: '); String name = stdin.readLineSync()!; if (contacts.containsKey(name)) { contacts.remove(name); print('Contact deleted successfully!'); } else { print('Contact not found!'); } } // Function to list all contacts void listContacts(Map<String, String> contacts) { if (contacts.isEmpty) { print('No contacts found.'); } else { print('List of Contacts:'); contacts.forEach((name, phoneNumber) { print('$name: $phoneNumber'); }); } }
(A) A collection of elements sorted by insertion order.
(B) A collection of key-value pairs where each key is unique.
(C) A collection of elements accessed by index.
(D) A collection of elements that allows duplicate values.
(A) dart:collection
(B) dart:convert
(C) dart:io
(D) dart:async
(A) put()
(B) add()
(C) putIfAbsent()
(D) insert()
(A) Removes the first element from the map.
(B) Removes the last element from the map.
(C) Removes the entry associated with the specified key from the map.
(D) Removes all elements from the map.
(A) keys
(B) values
(C) length
(D) isEmpty
(A) Using the value() method
(B) Using square bracket notation []
(C) Using the getValue() method
(D) Using the getValueForKey() method
(A) mapEach()
(B) forEach()
(C) iterate()
(D) map()
(A) The number of key-value pairs in the map.
(B) The sum of all values in the map.
(C) The total number of keys in the map.
(D) The total number of values in the map.
(A) true if the map has no keys.
(B) true if the map has no values.
(C) true if the map is empty (has no key-value pairs).
(D) true if the map has no null values.
(A) Map.empty()
(B) Map()
(C) Map.create()
(D) Map.emptyMap()
(A) Checks if a key exists in the map.
(B) Checks if a value exists in the map.
(C) Checks if a specific key-value pair exists in the map.
(D) Checks if the map is empty.
(A) deleteAll()
(B) clear()
(C) removeAll()
(D) empty()
(A) addEntries()
(B) addAll()
(C) insertEntries()
(D) fromEntries()
(A) updateValue()
(B) modifyValue()
(C) setValue()
(D) update()
(A) delete()
(B) removeEntry()
(C) removeKey()
(D) remove()
1-(B) A Dart map is a collection of key-value pairs where each key is unique.
2-(C) To handle input and output operations in Dart, you need to import the dart:io library.
3-(C) The putIfAbsent() method adds a new key-value pair to a map if the key is not already present.
4-(C) The remove() method removes the entry associated with the specified key from the map.
5-(A) The keys property returns an iterable containing all the keys in a map.
6-(B) You access the value associated with a specific key in a map using square bracket notation [].
7-(B) The forEach() method is used to iterate over each key-value pair in a map.
8-(A) The length property of a Dart map returns the number of key-value pairs in the map.
9-(C) The isEmpty property of a Dart map returns true if the map is empty (has no key-value pairs).
10-(B) The Map() constructor creates an empty map.
11-(A) The containsKey() method of a Dart map checks if a key exists in the map.
12-(B) The clear() method is used to clear all key-value pairs from a map.
13-(D) The fromEntries() method is used to add multiple entries to a map from a list of key-value pairs.
14-(D) You use the update() method to update the
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