Overview

You’ve used the HashMap built-in data structure, and possibly a dictionary in Python, but how do these actually work? Today we’ll be focusing on that magic that is hashing that leads to such amazing performance for hashmaps and dictionaries.

Basic Learning Objectives

Before class, you should be able to:

  • Explain the high-level idea of hashing
  • Give an example hash function for integers and strings
  • Explain why collision resolution is necessary

Advanced Learning Objectives

After class, you should be able to:

  • Implement your own simple hash table

Reading

You should read/watch the following and complete the embedded checks:

  • Runestone 5.5