Guide to TreeMap class

In this guide, we see the Implementation of TreeMap class using examples.

TreeMap is A Red-Black tree based NavigableMap implementation.

The entries in a TreeMap are always sorted based on the natural ordering of the keys, or based on a custom Comparator that you can provide at the time of creation of the TreeMap.

What Will We Learn?

1. Overview of TreeMap class
2. Create TreeMap Example
3. TreeMap Sorting Order Example(Ascending Order)
4. TreeMap with a custom Comparator (Descending Order)
5. Accessing the entries of a TreeMap

1. Overview of TreeMap class

Java TreeMap class implements the Map interface by using a tree. It provides an efficient means of storing key/value pairs in sorted order.

The important points about Java TreeMap class are:

• A TreeMap contains values based on the key. It implements the NavigableMap interface and extends AbstractMap class.
• It contains only unique elements.
• It cannot have a null key but can have multiple null values.
• It is same as HashMap instead maintains ascending order.

2. Create TreeMap Example

// Creating a TreeMap
TreeMap<String, String> fileExtensions  = new TreeMap<>();

// Adding new key-value pairs to a TreeMap
fileExtensions.put("python", ".py");
fileExtensions.put("c++", ".cpp");
fileExtensions.put("kotlin", ".kt");
fileExtensions.put("golang", ".go");
fileExtensions.put("java", ".java");

// Printing the TreeMap (Output will be sorted based on keys)
System.out.println(fileExtensions);

Output:

{c++=.cpp, golang=.go, java=.java, kotlin=.kt, python=.py}

3. TreeMap Sorting Order Example(Ascending Order)

In this example, the elements are sorted in natural ordering.

public class MapInterfaceTreeSetImpl {
    public static void main(String[] args) {
    treeMapDemo();
 }

 // maintain keys in ascending order.
 private static void treeMapDemo() {
     // Constructs a new, empty tree map, using the natural ordering of its
     // keys
      Map<String, String> treeMap = new TreeMap<>();
      treeMap.put("key1", "value1");
      treeMap.put("key3", "value3");
      treeMap.put("key2", "value2");
      treeMap.put("key0", "value0");

      // loop linkedHahMap using java 8 forEach method
      treeMap.forEach((k, v) -> {
      System.out.println(k);
      System.out.println(v);
  });

     // loop linkedHahMap using before java 8 forEach method
     for (Entry pair : treeMap.entrySet()) {
         System.out.println(pair.getKey());
         System.out.println(pair.getValue());
     }
   }
}

Output:

key0
value0
key1
value1
key2
value2
key3
value3

4. TreeMap with a custom Comparator (Descending Order)

This example demonstrates how to create a TreeMap with a custom comparator that orders the TreeMap entries in the descending order of keys -

// Creating a TreeMap with a Custom comparator (Descending order)
SortedMap<String, Integer> numberWordMapping = new TreeMap<>(Comparator.reverseOrder());
// Adding new key-value pairs to a TreeMap
numberWordMapping.put("one", 1);
numberWordMapping.put("two", 2);
numberWordMapping.put("three", 3);
numberWordMapping.put("five", 5);
numberWordMapping.put("four", 4);

// Printing the TreeMap (The keys will be sorted based on the supplied
// comparator)
System.out.println(numberWordMapping);

Output:

{two=2, three=3, one=1, four=4, five=5}

Note that the keys are sorted in descending order.

5. Accessing the entries of a TreeMap

Find the size of a TreeMap.

TreeMap<Integer, String> users = new TreeMap<>();
users.put(1, "Ramesh");
// Finding the size of a TreeMap
System.out.println("Total number of users: " + users.size());

Check if a given key exists in a TreeMap.

TreeMap<Integer, String> users = new TreeMap<>();

users.put(1003, "A");
users.put(1001, "B");
users.put(1002, "C");
users.put(1004, "D");
// Check if a given key exists in a TreeMap
Integer id = 1004;
if(users.containsKey(id)) {
    // Get the value associated with a given key in a TreeMap
    String name = users.get(id);
    System.out.println("user with id " + id + " : " + name);
} else {
    System.out.println("user does not exist with id : " + id);
}

Retrieve the first entry in the TreeMap.

TreeMap<Integer, String> users = new TreeMap<>();

users.put(1003, "A");
users.put(1001, "B");
users.put(1002, "C");
users.put(1004, "D");
// Find the first entry
System.out.println("First entry in users map : " + users.firstEntry());

Retrieve the last entry in the TreeMap.

TreeMap<Integer, String> users = new TreeMap<>();

users.put(1003, "A");
users.put(1001, "B");
users.put(1002, "C");
users.put(1004, "D");
// Find the last entry
System.out.println("Last entry in users map : " + users.lastEntry());

Retrieve the entry whose key is just lower than the given key.

TreeMap<Integer, String> users = new TreeMap<>();

users.put(1003, "A");
users.put(1001, "B");
users.put(1002, "C");
users.put(1004, "D");
// Find the entry whose key is just less than the given key
Map.Entry<Integer, String> users = users.lowerEntry(1002);

Retrieve the entry whose key is just higher than the given key.

TreeMap<Integer, String> users = new TreeMap<>();

users.put(1003, "A");
users.put(1001, "B");
users.put(1002, "C");
users.put(1004, "D");
// Find the entry whose key is just higher than the given key
Map.Entry<Integer, String> usersEx = users.higherEntry(1002);