Dictionaries

Dictionaries, also known as associative arrays or hash maps, are essential data structures in modern programming, allowing for the storage and retrieval of key-value pairs.

• Data Mapping: One primary role of dictionaries in data set building processes is to map unknown or source-specific data fields to known, standardized fields in the target schema. This ensures consistency and eases data integration from various sources.

• Transformations: Dictionaries can be used to perform data transformations, such as converting abbreviations to full forms or translating codes to readable text.

• Data Cleaning and Validation: They facilitate cleaning and validating data by mapping incorrect or incomplete data to valid entries. For instance, a dictionary can convert common misspellings or error codes to correct values.

• Extendability: By maintaining mapping rules in dictionaries, data set building processes become easily extendable. New mappings and transformations can be added or updated without changing the core logic, making the process adaptable to evolving data requirements.

• Efficiency: Using dictionaries for lookups is computationally efficient, which speeds up data processing, especially with large datasets.