On Sunday, 31 July 2016 at 18:57:50 UTC, Jack Stouffer wrote:
Next question: what's the fastest hashing implementation that
will provide the least collisions? Is there a hash
implementation that's perfered for AAs?
There's no hashing function that would be specifically better for
associative arrays, it's a hashing function either way. The
primary things that should affect what your hashing function
looks like should be what your inputs - keys for an AA - look
like.
djb2 is my go-to for string hashing because it's conceptually
simple, efficient, and effective for most use cases.
http://www.cse.yorku.ca/~oz/hash.html
Every hashing function will produce collisions. As long as you
handle them, and as long as they aren't inordinately frequent,
you'll be fine.