Computational search in hashtable

Question

Hi experts,
I have the following situation. I have 25 apples and want to give away these apples to a list of people who need them stored in hashtable. Each of these people has indicated the quantity which they need. How to do give away exactly 25 apples to those who need them?
Hashtable<String,Object> h = new Hashtable<String,Object>();
h.put("andy", new Integer(1));
h.put("angie", new Integer(2));
h.put("eddie", new Integer(3));
h.put("tammy", new Integer(4));
h.put("edwin", new Integer(5));
h.put("dolly", new Integer(6));
h.put("sally", new Integer(7));
h.put("silly", new Integer(8));
h.put("zorro", new Integer(9));
h.put("sam", new Integer(10));
In other words, any hints how to search the hashtable in a way that the input is 25 and the output is a list of elements which its total values match 25 or closest to 25?
Thank you in advance.

Answer 1

Are you assuming that you have to fill an entire request (i.e., Eddie must get 3 apples or none at all)? Is there a reason you're using a hashtable for this?
It sounds like you're trying to solve a one-dimensional packing problem: given a set of numbers N_1, N_2, ... N_n, you want a subset of those numbers can be summed to total a given value V. Is this true?