Memory overhead of Java HashMap compared to ArrayList

Question

I am wondering what is the memory overhead of java HashMap compared to ArrayList?

Update:

I would like to improve the speed for searching fo

Answer 1

Basically, you should be using the "right tool for the job". Since there are different instances where you'll need a key/value pair (where you may use a HashMap) and different instances where you'll just need a list of values (where you may use a ArrayList) then the question of "which one uses more memory", in my opinion, is moot, since it is not a consideration of choosing one over the other.

But to answer the question, since HashMap stores key/value pairs while ArrayList stores just values, I would assume that the addition of keys alone to the HashMap would mean that it takes up more memory, assuming, of course, we are comparing them by the same value type (e.g. where the values in both are Strings).