What factors affect the performance of hash maps?

What factors affect the performance of hash maps?

The performance of hash maps is influenced by factors like load factor, hash function quality, and collision resolution strategy.

Can you explain what a load factor is?

The load factor is the ratio of the number of elements in the hash map to the number of buckets. A higher load factor can lead to more collisions.

What is a good hash function?

A good hash function distributes keys uniformly across the buckets, minimizing collisions and ensuring efficient access.

How do collisions affect performance?

Collisions can degrade performance by increasing the time complexity for operations like insertions and lookups, as multiple keys may map to the same bucket.

What are some common collision resolution strategies?

Common strategies include chaining, where each bucket holds a list of entries, and open addressing, where you find the next available bucket.