How to get a single value from a Map?

My problem starts off by reading this text file in:

Every good boy does fine and
the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog and

We have to create a map and use each word as a key and what # the word is as the value. This is what should be printed out:

Every 1, (Every is the first word, so it has a 1, next to it)
and 6,16, (and is used twice as the 6th and 16th word, so it has 6, and 16,)
boy 3,

I have to use a HashMap<String, StringBuilder> to store the values, and I have no problems up to using the put(K,V) method. However, I don't know how to add a second value, such as 16 for and in the example above.

Variables in my program:
indexMap is the hashMap, String word is the key, and StringBuilder sb is the value.

I can do indexMap.put(word, sb); to add it to the Map but when I do that, the key and value are replaced. I need the new value to be appended to the end of the current value. My plan was to get the value already stored, append it to the StringBuilder, and then append the new value I want to add to the end of that. The problem I'm having is in getting that single value that is in the Map, so basically I don't know how to get "6," when I want to add "16," to the end of it.

This is what I wanted to do in code, except that getValue() doesn't work:

//if the key already exists
if(indexMap.containsKey(word))
{
//get the value in the word and append it to the StringBuilder
sb.append(indexMap.getValue(word) + ",");

//get the new value to add and append it to the end of StringBuilder
sb.append((Integer.toString(count) + ",");

//clear the existing key and map
indexMap.remove(word);

//put the key and the new value in
indexMap.put(word, sb);

}

The core problem is how to append what numbered word it is to the current value in the spot, so if what I thought is completely off, I would appreciate if someone told me the right way to go about doing it =p. Thank you very much.

The approach sounds OK. (But not how I would have done it: I would have made the values lists rather than string builders. Then just appended the incoming value. The business of formatting with commas I would have left to whoever gets the map value).

Code:

---

//if the key already exists
if(indexMap.containsKey(word))
{
//get the value in the word and append it to the StringBuilder
sb.append(indexMap.getValue(word) + ",");

---

So what is sb - what is the StringBuilder to which you are appending?

Rather than removing the old key/value pair and adding a new one it might be more straightfoward to get the existing StringBuilder value and append directly to that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pbrockway2

The approach sounds OK. (But not how I would have done it: I would have made the values lists rather than string builders. Then just appended the incoming value. The business of formatting with commas I would have left to whoever gets the map value).

Code:

---

//if the key already exists
if(indexMap.containsKey(word))
{
//get the value in the word and append it to the StringBuilder
sb.append(indexMap.getValue(word) + ",");

---

So what is sb - what is the StringBuilder to which you are appending?

Rather than removing the old key/value pair and adding a new one it might be more straightfoward to get the existing StringBuilder value and append directly to that.

---

I had the option of using a List of ints or a StringBuilder.. and I went with the StringBuilder because I have never used a list like that, should have thought about that more. sb is the number the counter was at converted into a StringBuilder, the counter increments every time the Scanner gets the next() word (so it would be at 16 while the current value stored for and is 6). So I could append it directly to the StringBuilder, but I didn't think you could append the StringBuilder straight to the value in the Map. How would I go about doing that?

Quote:

---

So I could append it directly to the StringBuilder, but I didn't think you could append the StringBuilder straight to the value in the Map. How would I go about doing that?

---

Yes - the value in the map is a reference to a StringBuilder. You can't change that reference without removing the key/value pair and putting a new one in as you are doing now. But you can change the contents of the StringBuilder instance.

So, inside the if block...

Code:

---

StringBuilder value = indexMap.getValue(word);
value.append("whatever you like");
// finished!

---

Try this and see what happens. (You can expect problems with those pesky commas - but that's a separate issue ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pbrockway2

Try this and see what happens. (You can expect problems with those pesky commas - but that's a separate issue ;)

---

I tried

if(indexMap.containsKey(word))
{
StringBuilder value = indexMap.getValue(word);
value.append((Integer.toString(count)));

}


and I got the "cannot find symbol" error message. So that leads me to think that I overlooked something obvious that you assumed was right, otherwise do you know what's wrong with that code? And I ignored the commas for now lol.

Quote:

---

I got the "cannot find symbol" error message. So that leads me to think that I overlooked something obvious that you assumed was right

---

Exactly.

I assumed getValue() was right (because you had it in your code - well, that's my excuse). Actually the method should be get().

So use get() instead of getValue().

---------------------

A couple of points about using a forum like this:

If you get a compiler message (that you can't understand), copy and post the whole thing. That saves guessing. Also it will refer to some line number in your code; since only you can see what line that is you should say in your post what line that is.

When posting code use the code tags: basically you put [code] at the start of the code and [/code] at the end. That way the code will show up with the correct indentation etc.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pbrockway2

Exactly.

I assumed getValue() was right (because you had it in your code - well, that's my excuse). Actually the method should be get().

So use get() instead of getValue().

---------------------

A couple of points about using a forum like this:

If you get a compiler message (that you can't understand), copy and post the whole thing. That saves guessing. Also it will refer to some line number in your code; since only you can see what line that is you should say in your post what line that is.

When posting code use the code tags: basically you put [code] at the start of the code and [/code] at the end. That way the code will show up with the correct indentation etc.

---

Thanks for the help, it has really been useful. Sorry, it was the first time posting and I did not read through all the guidelines, sorry if I wasted your time. And I was so close to getting it right, depressing that I lost points for it =/ lol unfortunately it was the first time I used a map (the only example lab we had was for a list).

Quote:

---

Sorry, it was the first time posting and I did not read through all the guidelines, sorry if I wasted your time.

---

No problem - I only mentioned those things because they are nonobvious things that facilitate communication.

Did you try

Code:

---

if(indexMap.containsKey(word))
{
    StringBuilder value = indexMap.get(word);
    value.append((Integer.toString(count)));
}

---

What happened?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pbrockway2

No problem - I only mentioned those things because they are nonobvious things that facilitate communication.

Did you try

Code:

---

if(indexMap.containsKey(word))
{
    StringBuilder value = indexMap.get(word);
    value.append((Integer.toString(count)));
}

---

What happened?

---

I will get back to you on this, I appreciate it but its Friday Night!!! I will get back to thinking logicallsoon enough

Fair enough.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pbrockway2

Fair enough.

---

Thanks for the help.. all I had to switch was getValue() to get(), when I was looking over all the methods I saw get(key k) and assumed it just returned a key, definitely wasn't thinking. We had to have a midterm, but a couple snow days threw off everything.. so I never actually used a map before and I wasn't familiar at all with the methods. Thanks dude I got it working now.

You're welcome. I'm glad the code does what you want now.