If you were designing a simple hash function for strings, which operation would likely be a core component?
Converting characters to their ASCII codes and performing arithmetic operations.
Sorting the characters in the string alphabetically.
Reversing the string.
Finding the length of the string.
How are dictionaries typically implemented in programming languages?
Using linked lists for fast insertions.
Using hashmaps to provide fast key-value lookups.
Using binary trees for sorted key storage.
Using arrays for efficient indexing.
In a symbol table implementation using a hashmap, what do the keys usually represent?
Names of variables or identifiers.
Memory addresses of variables.
Data types of variables.
Values of variables.
What happens when a hash function produces the same index for different keys?
A collision occurs.
The key-value pair is discarded.
The hashmap raises an error.
The hash function is automatically updated.
In hashmap collision resolution, what does separate chaining involve?
Finding the next available empty slot in the hash table.
Using a secondary hash function to resolve collisions.
Storing colliding elements in a separate overflow area.
Creating linked lists at each index of the hash table to store colliding elements.
Why is a good hash function important for hashmap performance?
To allow for efficient resizing of the hash table.
To ensure that keys are evenly distributed across the hash table, reducing collisions.
To minimize the number of comparisons required to find an element.
To reduce the memory used by the hash table.
Which characteristic of a hash function is undesirable and can lead to performance degradation?
Deterministic
Fast Computation
High Collision Rate
Uniform Distribution
Which of these data structures is commonly used to handle collisions in hashmaps?
Linked List
Binary Tree
Heap
Queue
What is the primary role of the modulo operator (%) in simple hash functions?
To handle collisions effectively.
To generate a unique hash code for each key.
To map the hash code to a valid index within the array's bounds.
To sort keys in ascending order based on their hash values.
What is the time complexity of inserting a key-value pair into a hashmap in the average case?
O(1)
O(n)
O(log n)
O(n log n)