Hashing Questions Long
Searching for an element in a hash table involves the following process:
1. Hashing: The first step is to compute the hash value of the element being searched. This is typically done by applying a hash function to the key of the element. The hash function should distribute the elements uniformly across the hash table to minimize collisions.
2. Index Calculation: Once the hash value is obtained, the next step is to calculate the index where the element should be stored in the hash table. This is done by taking the modulus of the hash value with the size of the hash table. The resulting index represents the bucket or slot where the element is expected to be found.
3. Collision Handling: In case of a collision, where multiple elements have the same hash value and are mapped to the same index, a collision resolution technique is employed. There are various collision resolution techniques such as chaining (using linked lists or arrays to store multiple elements in the same bucket) or open addressing (probing for an alternative empty slot in the hash table).
4. Element Comparison: Once the appropriate bucket is identified, the element is compared with the elements stored in that bucket. This can be done by comparing the key of the element with the keys of the elements in the bucket. If a match is found, the element is considered found in the hash table.
5. Handling Absence: If no match is found in the identified bucket, it means that the element is not present in the hash table. In such cases, the search operation terminates, and it is concluded that the element is not in the hash table.
Overall, the process of searching for an element in a hash table involves computing the hash value, calculating the index, handling collisions, comparing the element with the elements in the identified bucket, and determining the presence or absence of the element in the hash table.