Hashtable and Dictionary Collection Types - .NET (2024)

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In this article See also FAQs

The System.Collections.Hashtable class, and the System.Collections.Generic.Dictionary<TKey,TValue> and System.Collections.Concurrent.ConcurrentDictionary<TKey,TValue> generic classes, implement the System.Collections.IDictionary interface. The Dictionary<TKey,TValue> generic class also implements the IDictionary<TKey,TValue> generic interface. Therefore, each element in these collections is a key-and-value pair.

A Hashtable object consists of buckets that contain the elements of the collection. A bucket is a virtual subgroup of elements within the Hashtable, which makes searching and retrieving easier and faster than in most collections. Each bucket is associated with a hash code, which is generated using a hash function and is based on the key of the element.

The generic HashSet<T> class is an unordered collection for containing unique elements.

A hash function is an algorithm that returns a numeric hash code based on a key. The key is the value of some property of the object being stored. A hash function must always return the same hash code for the same key. It is possible for a hash function to generate the same hash code for two different keys, but a hash function that generates a unique hash code for each unique key results in better performance when retrieving elements from the hash table.

Each object that is used as an element in a Hashtable must be able to generate a hash code for itself by using an implementation of the GetHashCode method. However, you can also specify a hash function for all elements in a Hashtable by using a Hashtable constructor that accepts an IHashCodeProvider implementation as one of its parameters.

When an object is added to a Hashtable, it is stored in the bucket that is associated with the hash code that matches the object's hash code. When a value is being searched for in the Hashtable, the hash code is generated for that value, and the bucket associated with that hash code is searched.

For example, a hash function for a string might take the ASCII codes of each character in the string and add them together to generate a hash code. The string "picnic" would have a hash code that is different from the hash code for the string "basket"; therefore, the strings "picnic" and "basket" would be in different buckets. In contrast, "stressed" and "desserts" would have the same hash code and would be in the same bucket.

The Dictionary<TKey,TValue> and ConcurrentDictionary<TKey,TValue> classes have the same functionality as the Hashtable class. A Dictionary<TKey,TValue> of a specific type (other than Object) provides better performance than a Hashtable for value types. This is because the elements of Hashtable are of type Object; therefore, boxing and unboxing typically occur when you store or retrieve a value type. The ConcurrentDictionary<TKey,TValue> class should be used when multiple threads might be accessing the collection simultaneously.

See also

Hashtable and Dictionary Collection Types - .NET (2024)

FAQs

Should I use Hashtable or dictionary in C#? ›

A Dictionary<TKey,TValue> of a specific type (other than Object) provides better performance than a Hashtable for value types. This is because the elements of Hashtable are of type Object; therefore, boxing and unboxing typically occur when you store or retrieve a value type.

Is Hashtable deprecated in C#? ›

Hashtable. hcp has been deprecated. Use the EqualityComparer property instead. Gets or sets the object that can dispense hash codes.

Is dictionary a hashmap in C#? ›

C# Hashmaps are also used using Dictionary. The Dictionary is a generic collection that stores key-value pairs. The Dictionary class is part of the System.

What is the difference between dictionary and Hashtable in PowerShell? ›

OrderedDictionary] object in PowerShell. Ordered dictionaries differ from hashtables in that the keys always appear in the order in which you list them. The order of keys in a hashtable isn't deterministic.

Which is faster list or dictionary in C#? ›

As you can see, retrieving an item from a dictionary is massively more performant and efficient than doing the same from a regular list (1.4ms vs 0.01ms). This is because the dictionary, as a data structure, has been designed for this purpose.

Why HashMap is better than Hashtable? ›

HashMap is not synchronized, therefore it's faster and uses less memory than Hashtable. Generally, unsynchronized objects are faster than synchronized ones in a single threaded application.

When to use HashSet vs dictionary in C#? ›

The real difference is the fact that with a Dictionary we can create key-value pairs (with the keys being unique), while with an HashSet we're storing an unordered set of unique items. It's also extremely important to note that when using HashSets, items have to properly implement GetHashCode() and Equals() .

What are the advantages of dictionary in C#? ›

We will also explore the benefits of using dictionaries for key-value pair associations. Dictionaries in C# are collections that store key-value pairs, where each key is associated with a specific value. They provide an efficient means of storing and retrieving data based on unique keys.

Why use HashMap instead of dictionary? ›

A hashmap is a data structure that maps keys to their respective value pairs. It makes it easy to find values that are associated with their keys. There is no difference between a dictionary and a hashmap.

Why use hash table over dictionary? ›

In Hashtable, there is no need to specify the type of the key and value. In Dictionary, you must specify the type of key and value. The data retrieval is slower than Dictionary due to boxing/ unboxing.

What happens when a hash table is full? ›

> When the hash table gets too full, we need to allocate a larger array and move the items over. This is absolutely required when the number of items in the hash table has reached the size of the array, but usually you want to do it when the table is half or three-quarters full.

Why is Hashtable faster than list? ›

Hash tables tend to be faster when it comes to searching for items. In arrays, you have to loop over all items before you find what you are looking for while in a hash table you go directly to the location of the item. Inserting an item is also faster in Hash tables since you just hash the key and insert it.

Should I use dictionaries in C#? ›

A dictionary is a useful data structure that allows you to store key-value pairs. You can efficiently access a value from the dictionary using its key. Dictionaries in C# support actions like removing a value or iterating over the entire set of values.

Why use a hash table over a dictionary? ›

In Hashtable, there is no need to specify the type of the key and value. In Dictionary, you must specify the type of key and value. The data retrieval is slower than Dictionary due to boxing/ unboxing.

Why do we use Hashtable in C#? ›

You use a hashtable (dictionary) when you want fast look up access to an item based on a key. If you are using List, IList or IEnumerable generally this means that you are looping over data (well in the case of IEnumerable it definitely means that), and a hashtable isn't going to net you anything.

When should you use a Hashtable? ›

Use Hash tables when we need to store key-value pairs and perform frequent lookup, insert, or delete operations. Use Sets when we need to store unique elements, don't care about duplicates, and just need to perform operations like checking if an element is in the set or not.

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