Question 1

How to implement a sorted dictionary in Swift with BTree?

Accepted Answer

Use the Map<Key, Value> type from BTree, which requires Comparable keys and provides O(log n) operations for insertion, lookup, and removal, maintaining elements in sorted order. It's a drop-in replacement for Dictionary when order matters.

Question 2

BTree vs red-black trees: which is faster for sorted collections in Swift?

Accepted Answer

BTree generally outperforms red-black trees due to better locality of reference and higher node fanout, as shown in the README's benchmarks where B-trees handle large datasets without quadratic slowdowns. Red-black trees suffer from pointer-heavy structures leading to cache inefficiencies.

Question 3

How to install BTree using CocoaPods?

Accepted Answer

Add `pod 'BTree'` to your Podfile and run `pod install`, as indicated by the CocoaPod badge in the README. Ensure your Swift version is 4.0 or later, as specified in the compatibility notes.

Question 4

Does BTree allow duplicate keys in its collections?

Accepted Answer

Yes, BTree supports elements with duplicate keys, and methods like insertion and lookup let you specify whether to target the first, last, or any matching element. This is useful for multiset implementations like SortedBag.

Question 5

What's the performance impact of using BTree as an imported module?

Accepted Answer

Due to Swift compiler limitations, imported generics can be 10-200x slower for value types like Int, as noted in the 'Remark on Performance' section. For optimal speed, consider embedding the BTree code directly in your module for critical paths.

Question 6

How to efficiently concatenate two sorted lists with BTree?

Accepted Answer

Use the List type's concatenation methods, which take O(log n) time by linking subtrees without full copying. The README highlights this as a key advantage over Array's O(n) concatenation, especially for large datasets.

BTree

What is BTree?

Overview

Use Cases

Best For

Related Projects

Found a gem we're missing?

Not Ideal For

Pros & Cons

Pros

Cons

Frequently Asked Questions