Can you explain how elements are added to a Map data structure?

In Java, to add elements to a Map, the put(key, value) method is used. It takes a key and a value, and adds them to the collection. If the key already exists, the value for that key is overwritten with the new one.

Example:

Map<String, Integer> map = new HashMap<>();
map.put("apple", 3);   // adding a key-value pair
map.put("banana", 5);  // adding another pair
map.put("apple", 10);  // overwriting the value for the key "apple"

As a result, the map will contain two entries: "apple" -> 10 and "banana" -> 5.

Important:

• Keys in a Map must be unique.
• Values can be duplicated.
• The order and performance may vary depending on the implementation of Map (e.g., HashMap, TreeMap).