When should you prefer hashes (%), and when should you avoid it?

In Perl, hashes (associative arrays) are useful for storing key-value pairs, enabling efficient retrieval and manipulation of data. Prefer hashes when you need quick lookups, especially when working with unique identifiers. However, avoid them when order matters or when handling large datasets where memory overhead could be an issue.
Perl, hashes, associative arrays, key-value pairs, data retrieval, programming, efficient data structures
# Using hashes in Perl my %fruit_colors = ( 'apple' => 'red', 'banana' => 'yellow', 'grape' => 'purple', ); # Accessing a value my $apple_color = $fruit_colors{'apple'}; print "The color of an apple is $apple_color\n"; # Outputs: The color of an apple is red # Example of avoiding hashes when order matters my @ordered_fruits = ('apple', 'banana', 'grape'); my @ordered_colors = ('red', 'yellow', 'purple'); for my $i (0..$#ordered_fruits) { print "The color of $ordered_fruits[$i] is $ordered_colors[$i]\n"; }

Perl hashes associative arrays key-value pairs data retrieval programming efficient data structures

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