[#intro]
= Introduction

:idprefix: intro_
:cpp: C++

For accessing data based on key lookup, the {cpp} standard library offers `std::set`,
`std::map`, `std::multiset` and `std::multimap`. These are generally
implemented using balanced binary trees so that lookup time has
logarithmic complexity. That is generally okay, but in many cases a
link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_table[hash table^] can perform better, as accessing data has constant complexity,
on average. The worst case complexity is linear, but that occurs rarely and
with some care, can be avoided.

Also, the existing containers require a 'less than' comparison object
to order their elements. For some data types this is impossible to implement
or isn't practical. In contrast, a hash table only needs an equality function
and a hash function for the key.

With this in mind, unordered associative containers were added to the {cpp}
standard. This is an implementation of the containers described in {cpp}11,
with some <<compliance,deviations from the standard>> in
order to work with non-{cpp}11 compilers and libraries.

`unordered_set` and `unordered_multiset` are defined in the header
`<boost/unordered_set.hpp>`
[source,c++]
----  
namespace boost {
    template <
        class Key,
        class Hash = boost::hash<Key>,
        class Pred = std::equal_to<Key>,
        class Alloc = std::allocator<Key> >
    class unordered_set;

    template<
        class Key,
        class Hash = boost::hash<Key>, 
        class Pred = std::equal_to<Key>, 
        class Alloc = std::allocator<Key> > 
    class unordered_multiset;
}
----

`unordered_map` and `unordered_multimap` are defined in the header
`<boost/unordered_map.hpp>`

[source,c++]
----
namespace boost {
    template <
        class Key, class Mapped,
        class Hash = boost::hash<Key>,
        class Pred = std::equal_to<Key>,
        class Alloc = std::allocator<std::pair<Key const, Mapped> > >
    class unordered_map;

    template<
        class Key, class Mapped,
        class Hash = boost::hash<Key>,
        class Pred = std::equal_to<Key>,
        class Alloc = std::allocator<std::pair<Key const, Mapped> > >
    class unordered_multimap;
}
----

When using Boost.TR1, these classes are included from `<unordered_set>` and
`<unordered_map>`, with the classes added to the `std::tr1` namespace.

The containers are used in a similar manner to the normal associative
containers:

[source,cpp]
----
typedef boost::unordered_map<std::string, int> map;
map x;
x["one"] = 1;
x["two"] = 2;
x["three"] = 3;

assert(x.at("one") == 1);
assert(x.find("missing") == x.end());
----

But since the elements aren't ordered, the output of:

[source,c++]
----
BOOST_FOREACH(map::value_type i, x) {
    std::cout<<i.first<<","<<i.second<<"\n";
}
----

can be in any order. For example, it might be:

[source]
----
two,2
one,1
three,3
----

To store an object in an unordered associative container requires both a
key equality function and a hash function. The default function objects in
the standard containers support a few basic types including integer types,
floating point types, pointer types, and the standard strings. Since
Boost.Unordered uses link:../../../container_hash/index.html[boost::hash^] it also supports some other types,
including standard containers. To use any types not supported by these methods
you have to extend Boost.Hash to support the type or use
your own custom equality predicates and hash functions. See the
<<hash_equality,Equality Predicates and Hash Functions>> section
for more details.

There are other differences, which are listed in the
<<comparison,Comparison with Associative Containers>> section.