Hash Functions

Not all hash functions are good; a good one should be easy to compute and should ``randomize'' symbols into different hash locations, not lump them into only a few hash values.

Some examples of good hash functions:

• Treat the symbol name as an integer, square it, and take some bits out of the middle.

• Treat the symbol name as an integer and find the remainder of the name modulo p, %p, where p is prime.

A typical re-hash function is simply to add 1 to the previous hash function value.