What is the purpose of HashMap in Java?

HashMap is a key-value pair collection class in Java that implements the Map interface and is used to store key-value pairs. It maps keys to values, allowing for quick lookup of the corresponding value. HashMap enables efficient searching, inserting, and deleting operations, making it widely used for data storage and management in Java. Built on a hash table, HashMap offers fast lookup performance, making it suitable for scenarios that involve storing large amounts of data with frequent search operations.