Data Structure and Algorithms -
Hash Table
Bhabani Shankar Pradhan
Hash Table is a data structure which stores data in an associative manner. In a
hash table, data is stored in an array format, where each data value has its
own unique index value. Access of data becomes very fast if we know the
index of the desired data.
Thus, it becomes a data structure in which insertion and search operations are
very fast irrespective of the size of the data. Hash Table uses an array as a
storage medium and uses hash technique to generate an index where an
element is to be inserted or is to be located from.
Hashing
Hashing is a technique to convert a range of key values into a range of indexes
of an array. We're going to use modulo operator to get a range of key values.
Consider an example of hash table of size 20, and the following items are to be
stored. Item are in the (key,value) format.
(1,20)
(2,70)
(42,80)
(4,25)
(12,44)
(14,32)
(17,11)
(13,78)
(37,98)
Sr.No. Key Hash Array Index
1 1 1 % 20 = 1 1
2 2 2 % 20 = 2 2
3 42 42 % 20 = 2 2
4 4 4 % 20 = 4 4
5 12 12 % 20 = 12 12
6 14 14 % 20 = 14 14
7 17 17 % 20 = 17 17
8 13 13 % 20 = 13 13
9 37 37 % 20 = 17 17
Linear Probing
As we can see, it may happen that the hashing technique is used to create an
already used index of the array. In such a case, we can search the next empty
location in the array by looking into the next cell until we find an empty cell.
This technique is called linear probing.
After Linear Probing, Array
Sr.No. Key Hash Array Index
Index
1 1 1 % 20 = 1 1 1
2 2 2 % 20 = 2 2 2
3 42 42 % 20 = 2 2 3
4 4 4 % 20 = 4 4 4
5 12 12 % 20 = 12 12 12
6 14 14 % 20 = 14 14 14
7 17 17 % 20 = 17 17 17
8 13 13 % 20 = 13 13 13
9 37 37 % 20 = 17 17 18
Basic Operations
Following are the basic primary operations of a hash table.
Search − Searches an element in a hash table.
Insert − inserts an element in a hash table.
delete − Deletes an element from a hash table.
DataItem
Define a data item having some data and key, based on which the search is to
be conducted in a hash table.
struct DataItem {
int data;
int key;
};
Hash Method
Define a hashing method to compute the hash code of the key of the data item.
int hashCode(int key){
return key % SIZE;
Search Operation
Whenever an element is to be searched, compute the hash code of the key
passed and locate the element using that hash code as index in the array. Use
linear probing to get the element ahead if the element is not found at the
computed hash code.
Example
struct DataItem *search(int key) {
//get the hash
int hashIndex = hashCode(key);
//move in array until an empty
while(hashArray[hashIndex] != NULL) {
if(hashArray[hashIndex]->key == key)
return hashArray[hashIndex];
//go to next cell
++hashIndex;
//wrap around the table
hashIndex %= SIZE;
return NULL;
Insert Operation
Whenever an element is to be inserted, compute the hash code of the key
passed and locate the index using that hash code as an index in the array. Use
linear probing for empty location, if an element is found at the computed hash
code.
Example
void insert(int key,int data) {
struct DataItem *item = (struct DataItem*) malloc(sizeof(struct DataItem));
item->data = data;
item->key = key;
//get the hash
int hashIndex = hashCode(key);
//move in array until an empty or deleted cell
while(hashArray[hashIndex] != NULL && hashArray[hashIndex]->key != -1) {
//go to next cell
++hashIndex;
//wrap around the table
hashIndex %= SIZE;
hashArray[hashIndex] = item;
Delete Operation
Whenever an element is to be deleted, compute the hash code of the key
passed and locate the index using that hash code as an index in the array. Use
linear probing to get the element ahead if an element is not found at the
computed hash code. When found, store a dummy item there to keep the
performance of the hash table intact.
Example
struct DataItem* delete(struct DataItem* item) {
int key = item->key;
//get the hash
int hashIndex = hashCode(key);
//move in array until an empty
while(hashArray[hashIndex] !=NULL) {
if(hashArray[hashIndex]->key == key) {
struct DataItem* temp = hashArray[hashIndex];
//assign a dummy item at deleted position
hashArray[hashIndex] = dummyItem;
return temp;
}
//go to next cell
++hashIndex;
//wrap around the table
hashIndex %= SIZE;
return NULL;
