Author: Ricardo Gibert
Date: 19:29:15 05/29/99
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Section 4.6 in Algoritms + Data Structures = Programs by Wirth is correct. > The 1983 edition of Algoritms by Sedgewick gives the typical incorrect exposition of the topic, which you seem to echo rather closely. > The 1984 Edition of Fundamentals of Computer Algorithms by Horowitz & Sahni I have is also incorrect. > I'll check Knuth when I pass by the bookstore today. I'm pretty sure he gets it right. He is very meticulous & comprehensive of course. Not very good at explanations though. Not a good writer. He seems to set the standard, nevertheless. I'll probably wind up posting a quote from Wirth even though it looks like it will be overly long. They don't let you use a copier in bookstores unfortunately. > Just think about what you are saying. "M mod N" would then be hashing a function according to you. A poor one, because of all the collisions. Hashing is a strategy to spread out keys to avoid collisions when you map from M to N. Mapping function is the term you defined. All B-trees are mapping functions too, but are not hash functions as you imply. They fit your "definition". > What happens in computer science, as in many fields, is terminology & definitions are used "loosely". It's is very awkward & laborious to be precise all the time. Particularly in conversation. The trouble is the listener/reader does not know when the writer/speaker is being precise or is using the term loosely. So the facts get "hashed" and you have many books treating topics incorrectly. I can give many examples in sorting & numerical analysis if you are interested. > By the way, I used to drive my college profs crazy with this type of problem. So you have my sympathies!
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