An array or matrix of data that contains items that are searched. Lookup tables may be arranged as key-value pairs, where the keys are the data items being searched (looked up) and the values are either the actual data or pointers to where the data are located. Sometimes, lookup tables contain only data items (just values, not key-value pairs). For example, in a 256-color palette, the location in the table and the key are synonymous (item 0, item 1, item 2, etc.). See
table lookup,
index,
indexed color,
hash table and
key-value pair.