Question

I’m currently working on a project,
I need something that I can provide a name, then it can return what kind of item it is.

Say I have word starcraft,
then the API or some database can return something like game

or nba -> sports
or nike -> sports/shoe
or sadkljasd -> unknown

I saw something did this like months ago, but I can not recall.
I need something that has this kind functionality and data, and it does not have to be accurate

Anyone has any idea?

Thanks a lot

Answer 1

HashMap provides the kind of API you are looking for..

You can have a mapping from your item to their type.. In a Map, you store your mapping in the form of Key-Value Pair… If all your items are unique, it will be the best bet for you..

Here I will give a brief example of how a Map works.. Rest you can get from the link I have given..

Map<String, String> mapping = new HashMap<String, String>();  
mapping.put("nba", "sports");

String type = mapping.get("nba");

System.out.println(type);   // Will give you `sports`

And if you have multiple types for some items, you can have a Mapping from items to the list of their types: –

Map<String, ArrayList<String>> mapping = 
                             new HashMap<String, ArrayList<String>>();