A **[Java dictionary](https://www.educative.io/answers/java-dictionary)** is an abstract class that stores *key-value* pairs. Given a key, its corresponding value can be stored and retrieved as needed; thus, a dictionary is a list of key-value pairs. 

> The `Dictionary` object classes are implemented in `java.util`.

# Creating a dictionary

The first step to creating a dictionary in Java is to choose a class that implements a "key-value pair" interface; a few examples include `HashTables`, `HashMap`, and `LinkedHashMap`.


# Syntax

The declaration and initialization of a dictionary follows the syntax below:

# Code

The code snippet below illustrates how to create a dictionary in Java and the usage of a few of the class's methods:

import java.util.*;

class My_Dictionary 
{
	public static void main(String[] args)
	{
		// creating a My HashTable Dictionary
		Hashtable<String, String> my_dict = new Hashtable<String, String>();

    // Using a few dictionary Class methods
		// using put method
		my_dict.put("01", "Apple");
		my_dict.put("10", "Banana");
		
		// using get() method
    System.out.println("\nValue at key = 10 : " + my_dict.get("10")); 
    System.out.println("Value at key = 11 : " + my_dict.get("11"));
		
		// using isEmpty() method
    System.out.println("\nIs my dictionary empty? : " + my_dict.isEmpty() + "\n");
		
		// using remove() method 
		// remove value at key 10
    my_dict.remove("10");
    System.out.println("Checking if the removed value exists: " + my_dict.get("10")); 
    System.out.println("\nSize of my_dict : " + my_dict.size()); 
	}
} 


How to create a dictionary in Java

Java dictionaries store key-value pairs using classes like HashTables, HashMap, and LinkedHashMap.