What type of collection does a dictionary maintain in programming?

A dictionary in programming maintains a collection of key-value pairs. This structure allows for efficient data retrieval, as each key is unique and maps directly to a specific value. When you retrieve a value from a dictionary, you use its corresponding key, which provides a quick and direct way to access information.

Dictionaries are particularly useful because they facilitate operations like adding, removing, and checking for the existence of keys in constant time on average. This makes them highly efficient for managing associative arrays, where you need to link specific pieces of information (the values) to identifiable keys.

In contrast, options like an ordered list would imply a sequence where elements are accessed based on their position, which is not characteristic of how dictionaries function. Stacks of data follow a Last In First Out (LIFO) principle, and matrices are two-dimensional arrays indexed by pairs of indices, neither of which aligns with the key-value pairing model of a dictionary.