When you want an association between a key and a clump of data, a hash (Perl for Java maps) is just the thing. You can assign the keys of a hash a value consisting of any scalar or reference. If you only want to map a single value to each key (e.g. just the max) then a scalar will do. If you want to map multiple values to a key (e.g. both a min and a max) you will need to assign each hash key a reference to an array or hash. Which you choose is largely a matter of style, though hashes of hashes tend to be more maintainable if the kinds of data associated with a key are likely to expand or change over time. 
# hash of hashes
$hRecords{$key}{min} = $minSoFar;
$hRecords{$key}{max} = $maxSoFar;

# hash of arrays
$hRecords{$key}[0] = $minSoFar;
$hRecords{$key}[1] = $maxSoFar;

# or better (self documenting; less error prone)
my $MIN_IDX=0;
my $MAX_IDX=1;

$hRecords{$key}[$MIN_IDX] = $minSoFar;
$hRecords{$key}[$MAX_IDX] = $maxSoFar;

[download]

For specifics about constructing and retrieving data from hashes of arrays and hashes of hashes, see perldsc

Best, beth

In reply to Re: Minimum and Max values from same Key by ELISHEVA
in thread Minimum and Max values from same Key by cowboyrocks

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