How do I access nested HashMaps in Java?

Question

I have a HashMap in Java, the contents of which (as you all probably know) can be accessed by

HashMap.get(\"keyname\");

If a have a HashMap

Answer 1

If you plan on constructing HashMaps with variable depth, use a recursive data structure.

Below is an implementation providing a sample interface:

class NestedMap {

    private final HashMap child;
    private V value;

    public NestedMap() {
        child = new HashMap<>();
        value = null;
    }

    public boolean hasChild(K k) {
        return this.child.containsKey(k);
    }

    public NestedMap getChild(K k) {
        return this.child.get(k);
    }

    public void makeChild(K k) {
        this.child.put(k, new NestedMap());
    }

    public V getValue() {
        return value;
    }

    public void setValue(V v) {
        value = v;
    }
}

and example usage:

class NestedMapIllustration {
    public static void main(String[] args) {

        NestedMap m = new NestedMap<>();

        m.makeChild('f');
        m.getChild('f').makeChild('o');
        m.getChild('f').getChild('o').makeChild('o');
        m.getChild('f').getChild('o').getChild('o').setValue("bar");

        System.out.println(
            "nested element at 'f' -> 'o' -> 'o' is " +
            m.getChild('f').getChild('o').getChild('o').getValue());
    }
}