Dart Maps

Introduction to Dart Maps

In Dart, a Map is an unordered collection of key-value pairs. Maps are highly useful when you need to associate unique keys with specific values, allowing for efficient data retrieval. Dart maps are generic, meaning you can specify the types of keys and values they hold, ensuring type safety in your code.

Creating a Map

Creating a map in Dart is straightforward. You can initialize a map using the Map constructor or map literals. Here's an example of both:

Accessing Map Values

Accessing values in a map is done through their keys. If the key exists, the corresponding value is returned. Otherwise, null is returned:

Updating Map Entries

Updating the value of an existing key or adding a new key-value pair is similar. If the key exists, its value is updated. Otherwise, a new key-value pair is added:

Removing Entries from a Map

You can remove a key-value pair from a map using the remove() method. It takes the key as a parameter:

Checking for Keys and Values

To check if a map contains a specific key or value, you can use the containsKey() and containsValue() methods, respectively:

Iterating Over a Map

You can iterate over the entries of a map using the forEach() method, which provides both the key and value of each entry:

Conclusion

Dart maps are a powerful tool for storing and managing key-value pairs. With the ability to specify types for both keys and values, you can create safe and efficient data structures suitable for a variety of applications.