One of the most misused data structures is the humble map; hashmap, dictionary, hash table, etc.
It's a great data structure for quick storage and access of key value pairs. Unfortunately, because of its ease and availability, it becomes pervasive at jobs it has no business doing. The problem grows most visible in dynamically typed languages that make the map a first class citizen (Python, Ruby, Clojure, etc.), but it can creep up in any language.
Chances are there’s probably something similar to dictionary in Python in your languages or at least it’s a import/#include away. Although I don’t use general programming languages at all, in my used language (G’MIC), I do something like
dict$var=inputwhere$varis a defined variable, and this way I can access input by doing${dict$var}and that’s similar to Python dictionary. In C++, there’s hash table implementation out there via github. That being said, there are sometimes when you don’t need a hashtable dependent on the hashmap, and sometimes, it’s just as simple as basic mathematics to access data.