On what data structure are dictionaries in Python implemented?

Dictionaries in Python are implemented based on hash tables (or associative arrays).

• Key-value. Each pair in the dictionary consists of a key and its associated value. Keys must be hashable (immutable data types such as strings, numbers, tuples).
• Hashing keys. When adding or searching for an element, Python computes the hash value of the key. This hash value points to a cell in memory where the key-value pair is stored.
• Used functions. Built-in functions hash() and internal mechanisms for memory management and collision resolution are used.
• Efficiency. Thanks to hashing, access to dictionary elements (insertion, deletion, search) has an average complexity of O(1).

# Example of a dictionary
my_dict = {
    "apple": 1,   # "apple" - key, 1 - value
    "banana": 2
}

# Hashing the key "apple" to determine its place in the table
hash("apple")