How to make three arrays relate to each other

Hi guys,
I have written a program which reads an input file and store the values in three arrays(a string and two double arrays).
The class who do the task is given below:

Code:

---

    package Assignments;

    import java.util.Arrays;
    import java.util.Scanner;


    public class Unit {
       
        static double[] fatContent;
        static double[] protienContent;
        static String[] nameOfElements;

       
        Unit(int numberOfElements){
                fatContent=new double[numberOfElements];
                protienContent=new double[numberOfElements];
                nameOfElements=new String[numberOfElements];
               
        }
       
        static void start(String in,int counter){
                Scanner storingElements=new Scanner(in);
                double fat;
                double protien;
                String name;
               
                while(!storingElements.hasNext()){
               
                        storingElements.nextLine();
               
                }
                name=storingElements.next();
                fat=storingElements.nextDouble();
                protien=storingElements.nextDouble();
                fatContent[counter]=fat;
                protienContent[counter]=protien;
                nameOfElements[counter]=name;
               
        }
       
       
    }

---

One of the input file I am reading is:

Code:

---

    7
    25
    2
    Mammal        fat_content(%)        protein_content(%)
    Bison        7.9        5.9
    Guinea_pig        3.9        8.1
    Dolphin        14.0        10.4
    Donkey        1.4        1.7
    Goat        4.1        3.4
    Deer        19.7        9.2
    Dog                8.3        9.5
    Yak        6.7        5.3
    Camel        3.4        3.5
    Cat        10.9        11.1
    Rabbit        13.1        7.1
    Llama        3.2        3.9
    Human        43.9        7.4
    Mule        1.8        2.0
    Elephant        5.0        4.0
    Horse        1.3        2.1
    Rat        12.6        12.3
    Reindeer        20.3        10.4
    Sheep        6.4        5.6
    Pig                5.1        6.6
    Fox          5.9        7.4
    Whale        42.3        10.9
    Polar_bear        31.0        10.2
    Zebra        4.8        3.0
    Seal        53.2        11.2

---

and when I run this class from my main program it gives me output of:

Code:

---

    [Bison, Guinea_pig, Dolphin, Donkey, Goat, Deer, Dog, Yak, Camel, Cat, Rabbit, Llama, Human,    Mule, Elephant, Horse, Rat, Reindeer, Sheep, Pig, Fox, Whale, Polar_bear, Zebra, Seal]

    [7.9, 3.9, 14.0, 1.4, 4.1, 19.7, 8.3, 6.7, 3.4, 10.9, 13.1, 3.2, 43.9, 1.8, 5.0, 1.3, 12.6,    20.3, 6.4, 5.1, 5.9, 42.3, 31.0, 4.8, 53.2]

    [5.9, 8.1, 10.4, 1.7, 3.4, 9.2, 9.5, 5.3, 3.5, 11.1, 7.1, 3.9, 7.4, 2.0, 4.0, 2.1, 12.3, 10.4, 5.6, 6.6, 7.4, 10.9, 10.2, 3.0, 11.2]

---

But my problem is that I want a connection between them like if I find the maximum value of fat array then it also gives me the corresponding value of protein and mammal name that belongs to it.
I mean how can I make them relate to each other....
like (Bison 7.9 5.9) at one place.

Thanks in advance and any ideas or help would be highly appreciated.....

Use HashMap<String,Double[]> where the key is the element name and value would correspond to a Double array consisting of fat and protein counts. The only limitation in this approach is that you can't have 2 equal keys. And if you can't avoid it and do have more than 1 reg of the same element just use a Collection of Object arrays (for ex. ArrayList<Object[]>).

Quote:

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if I find the maximum value of fat array then it also gives me the corresponding value of protein and mammal name that belongs to it.

---

Are you asking about "parallel" arrays? The connection between the arrays is the index. The contents of all the arrays at a specific index are related.
Find the index of a desired value in one array and that index into the other arrays gives the corresponding values.

I was going to suggest this from the beginning but the case of 2 or more equal numbers can create a problem that would remove the index uniqueness.

Say we have 2 values which correspond to max of fat. Which index should I select? Map or Collection on the other hand solve this problem.

Good question for the OP:
What if there are duplicate entries in one of the array?