Is HashMap internally implemented in Java using LinkedList or Array?

It basically looks like this:

 this is the main array   ↓[Entry] → Entry → Entry      ← here is the linked-list[Entry][Entry] → Entry[Entry][null ][null ]

So you have the main array where each index corresponds to some hash value (mod'ed* to the size of the array).

Then each of them will point to the next entry with the same hash value (again mod'ed*). This is where the linked-list comes in.

*: As a technical note, it's first hashed with a different function before being mod'ed, but, as a basic implementation, just modding will work.

Each HashMap has an Array and in that Array it places each Entry in a position according to its key's hash code (e.g. int position = entry.getKey().hashCode() % array.length). The position where an Entry is stored is called a bucket.

If more than one Entry ends up in the same bucket, those Entries are combined in a LinkedList (also see @Dukeling's answer). Thus the bucket metaphor: each Array index is a "bucket" where you dump in all matching keys.

You have to use an Array for the buckets in order to achieve the desired constant time performance for random access. Within a bucket you have to traverse all elements to find the desired key anyways, so you can use a LinkedList as it is easier to append to (no resize needed).

This also shows the need for a good hash function, because if all keys hash to only a few values you will get long LinkedLists to search and a lot of (fast to access) empty buckets.

HashMap has an array of HashMap.Entry objects :

/** * The table, resized as necessary. Length MUST Always be a power of two. */transient Entry<K,V>[] table; 

We can say that Entry is a one-way linked list (such HashMap.Entry linkage is called "Bucket") but it is not actually a java.util.LinkedList.

See for yourself :

static class Entry<K,V> implements Map.Entry<K,V> {        final K key;        V value;        Entry<K,V> next;        int hash;        /**         * Creates new entry.         */        Entry(int h, K k, V v, Entry<K,V> n) {            value = v;            next = n;            key = k;            hash = h;        }        public final K getKey() {            return key;        }        public final V getValue() {            return value;        }        public final V setValue(V newValue) {            V oldValue = value;            value = newValue;            return oldValue;        }        public final boolean equals(Object o) {            if (!(o instanceof Map.Entry))                return false;            Map.Entry e = (Map.Entry)o;            Object k1 = getKey();            Object k2 = e.getKey();            if (k1 == k2 || (k1 != null && k1.equals(k2))) {                Object v1 = getValue();                Object v2 = e.getValue();                if (v1 == v2 || (v1 != null && v1.equals(v2)))                    return true;            }            return false;        }        public final int hashCode() {            return (key==null   ? 0 : key.hashCode()) ^                   (value==null ? 0 : value.hashCode());        }        public final String toString() {            return getKey() + "=" + getValue();        }        /**         * This method is invoked whenever the value in an entry is         * overwritten by an invocation of put(k,v) for a key k that's already         * in the HashMap.         */        void recordAccess(HashMap<K,V> m) {        }        /**         * This method is invoked whenever the entry is         * removed from the table.         */        void recordRemoval(HashMap<K,V> m) {        }    }