of the data structures you mentioned, which are easier to work with? to implement? I code in Java and I usually use hashmaps as a go to. they're simple and fast ways to store relationships between data.
std::map in C++ is way easier to work with than std::unordered_map (which didn't even exist until C++11).
Define "way easier". The interface, at least for day to day operations, is basically identical.
Supports more features like ordered traversal, generally faster in most cases (yup!), consistent api cost, doesn’t invalidate iterators on certain operations like moving between maps. That’s just off the top of my head.