Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!uunet!mcsun!unido!sbsvax!cs.uni-sb.de!hubert
From: hubert@cs.uni-sb.de (Hubert Baumeister)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.smalltalk
Subject: Re: Smalltalk dictionary implementation
Message-ID: <11517@sbsvax.cs.uni-sb.de>
Date: 19 Jun 91 09:24:39 GMT
References: <1991Jun19.154629.10217@phillip.edu.au>
Sender: news@sbsvax.cs.uni-sb.de
Organization: Max-Planck-Institut f"ur Informatik
Lines: 27

In article <1991Jun19.154629.10217@phillip.edu.au>, x01233@phillip.edu.au writes:
|> 
|> I am curious as to how Smalltalk implements dictionaries. From an examination
|> of the code it seems that an insertion into a full dictionary results in the
|> entire dictionary being copied (and increased in size) with the new item being
|> inserted as the last act.
|> 
|> Is this right, or have I been staring at the screen for too long?

That is right.

|> As well is there any way to specify an initial size for a dictionary
|> (a variant on the 'new' message)?

Yes. Try Dictionary new: size. This will create a dictionary which is capable
of holding about size elements without growing.

Hubert

-- 
					Hubert Baumeister
					Max-Planck-Institut f"ur Informatik
					Im Stadtwald
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					Telefon: (x49-681)302-5432
					e-mail: hubert@cs.uni-sb.de