# Hashtables¶

## Agenda¶

• Discussion: pros/cons of array-backed and linked structures
• Python's other built-in DS: the dict
• A naive lookup DS
• Direct lookups via Hashing
• Hashtables
• Collisions and the "Birthday problem"
• Runtime analysis & Discussion

## Discussion: pros/cons of array-backed and linked structures¶

Between the array-backed and linked list we have:

1. $O(1)$ indexing (array-backed)
2. $O(1)$ appending (array-backed & linked)
3. $O(1)$ insertion/deletion without indexing (linked)
4. $O(\log N)$ binary search, when sorted (array-backed)

## Python's other built-in DS: the dict¶

In [1]:
import timeit

def lin_search(lst, x):
for i in range(len(lst)):
if lst[i] == x:
return i
raise ValueError(x)

def bin_search(lst, x):
# assume that lst is sorted!!!
low = 0
hi  = len(lst)
mid = (low + hi) // 2
while lst[mid] != x and low <= hi:
if lst[mid] < x:
low = mid + 1
else:
hi  = mid - 1
mid = (low + hi) // 2
if lst[mid] == x:
return mid
else:
raise ValueError(x)

def time_lin_search(size):
return timeit.timeit('lin_search(lst, random.randrange({}))'.format(size), # interpolate size into randrange
'import random ; from __main__ import lin_search ;'
'lst = [x for x in range({})]'.format(size), # interpolate size into list range
number=100)

def time_bin_search(size):
return timeit.timeit('bin_search(lst, random.randrange({}))'.format(size), # interpolate size into randrange
'import random ; from __main__ import bin_search ;'
'lst = [x for x in range({})]'.format(size), # interpolate size into list range
number=100)

def time_dict(size):
return timeit.timeit('dct[random.randrange({})]'.format(size),
'import random ; '
'dct = {{x: x for x in range({})}}'.format(size),
number=100)

lin_search_timings = [time_lin_search(n)
for n in range(10, 10000, 100)]

bin_search_timings = [time_bin_search(n)
for n in range(10, 10000, 100)]

dict_timings = [time_dict(n)
for n in range(10, 10000, 100)]

In [2]:
%matplotlib inline
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
# plt.plot(lin_search_timings, 'ro')
plt.plot(bin_search_timings, 'gs')
plt.plot(dict_timings, 'b^')
plt.show()


## A naive lookup DS¶

In [3]:
class LookupDS:
def __init__(self):
self.data = []

def __setitem__(self, key, value):
self.data.append((key, value))

def __getitem__(self, key):
for k, v in self.data:
if k == key:
return v
raise KeyError

def __contains__(self, key):
try:
_ = self[key]
return True
except:
return False


Demonstrates the relevant APIs, but is $O(N)$ for lookup (via __getitem__) operations.

## Direct lookups via Hashing¶

Hashes (a.k.a. hash codes or hash values) are simply numerical values computed for objects.

In [4]:
hash('hello')

Out[4]:
-7396423133407878025
In [5]:
[hash(s) for s in ['different', 'objects', 'have', 'very', 'different', 'hashes']]

Out[5]:
[8296517188300550567,
8215225975641230541,
3596799541896802914,
-4968555050265168387,
8296517188300550567,
5406427274544683832]

Note that a given object will always hash to the same value (e.g., the string 'different').

We can use the modulus operator (a.k.a. the remainder operator) to map a hash value to a smaller range.

In [6]:
hash('hello') % 100

Out[6]:
75
In [7]:
# reminder of the semantics of the modulus operator
n = 7
for x in range(20):
print('{} % {} = {}'.format(x, n, x % n))

0 % 7 = 0
1 % 7 = 1
2 % 7 = 2
3 % 7 = 3
4 % 7 = 4
5 % 7 = 5
6 % 7 = 6
7 % 7 = 0
8 % 7 = 1
9 % 7 = 2
10 % 7 = 3
11 % 7 = 4
12 % 7 = 5
13 % 7 = 6
14 % 7 = 0
15 % 7 = 1
16 % 7 = 2
17 % 7 = 3
18 % 7 = 4
19 % 7 = 5

In [8]:
[hash(s) % 100 for s in ['different', 'objects', 'have', 'very', 'different', 'hashes']]

Out[8]:
[67, 41, 14, 13, 67, 32]

## Hashtables¶

In [9]:
class Hashtable:
def __init__(self, n_buckets=1000):
self.buckets = [None] * n_buckets

def __setitem__(self, key, val):
bucket_idx = hash(key) % len(self.buckets)
self.buckets[bucket_idx] = (key, val)

def __getitem__(self, key):
bucket_idx = hash(key) % len(self.buckets)
tup = self.buckets[bucket_idx]
if tup and tup[0] == key:
return tup[1]
raise KeyError

def __contains__(self, key):
try:
_ = self[key]
return True
except:
return False

In [10]:
h = Hashtable(10)
h.buckets

Out[10]:
[None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None, None]
In [11]:
h['batman'] = 'bruce wayne'
h['superman'] = 'clark kent'

In [12]:
h['batman']

Out[12]:
'bruce wayne'
In [13]:
h['superman']

Out[13]:
'clark kent'
In [14]:
h.buckets

Out[14]:
[('superman', 'clark kent'),
None,
None,
('batman', 'bruce wayne'),
None,
None,
None,
None,
None,
None]
In [15]:
h = Hashtable(1)
h['batman'] = 'bruce wayne'
h['superman'] = 'clark kent'

In [16]:
h['batman']

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
KeyError                                  Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-16-aa89f29fd0c8> in <module>()
----> 1 h['batman']

<ipython-input-9-7ffc290cd9be> in __getitem__(self, key)
12         if tup and tup[0] == key:
13             return tup[1]
---> 14         raise KeyError
15
16     def __contains__(self, key):

KeyError: 
In [17]:
h.buckets

Out[17]:
[('superman', 'clark kent')]

Given a limited number of buckets, more than one key will inevitably map to the same bucket, resulting in a collision.

How likely are collisions to happen before they become an absolute certainty (i.e., when keys outnumber buckets)?

## On Collisions¶

### The "Birthday Problem"¶

Problem statement: Given $N$ people at a party, how likely is it that at least two people will have the same birthday?

This is easiest to calculate by considering the inverse: what is the probability that everyone has a unique birthday?

For $1$ person, the probability is 1 (100%).

For $2$ people, it is simply the likelihood that the second person is born on any of the other 364 days of the year, i.e., $\frac{364}{365}$.

For $3$ people, the third person has to be born on one of the remaining 363 days. We combine ("and" together) probabilities by multiplying them, so the likelihood that three people are born on different days is $1 \times \frac{364}{365} \times \frac{363}{365}$.

For $N \le 365$ people, the likelihood that everyone is born on a different day is simply: $\frac{365}{365} \times \frac{364}{365} \times \cdots \times \frac{365-(N-1)}{365}$

Having computed the inverse probability, we can determine how likely it is that two or more people will have the same birthday by simply subtracting the inverse from 1. The function below does this:

In [18]:
def birthday_p(n_people):
p_inv = 1
for n in range(365, 365-n_people, -1):
p_inv *= n / 365
return 1 - p_inv

In [19]:
birthday_p(2)

Out[19]:
0.002739726027397249
In [20]:
1 - 364/365 # note equivalence to above

Out[20]:
0.002739726027397249
In [21]:
birthday_p(23) # 50 percent likelihood with 23 people!

Out[21]:
0.5072972343239857
In [22]:
birthday_p(57) # over 99% likelihood with 57 people!

Out[22]:
0.9901224593411699
In [23]:
%matplotlib inline
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

n_people = range(1, 80)
plt.plot(n_people, [birthday_p(n) for n in n_people])
plt.show()


### General collision statistics¶

Repeat the birthday problem, but with a given number of values and "buckets" that are allotted to hold them. How likely is it that two or more values will map to the same bucket?

In [24]:
def collision_p(n_values, n_buckets):
p_inv = 1
for n in range(n_buckets, n_buckets-n_values, -1):
p_inv *= n / n_buckets
return 1 - p_inv

In [25]:
collision_p(23, 365) # same as birthday problem, for 23 people

Out[25]:
0.5072972343239857
In [26]:
collision_p(10, 100)

Out[26]:
0.37184349044470544
In [27]:
collision_p(100, 1000)

Out[27]:
0.9940410733677595
In [28]:
# keeping number of values fixed at 100, but vary number of buckets: visualize probability of collision
%matplotlib inline
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

n_buckets = range(100, 100001, 1000)
plt.plot(n_buckets, [collision_p(100, nb) for nb in n_buckets])
plt.show()

In [29]:
def avg_num_collisions(n, b):
"""Returns the expected number of collisions for n values uniformly distributed
over a hashtable of b buckets. Based on (fairly) elementary probability theory.
(Pay attention in MATH 474!)"""
return n - b + b * (1 - 1/b)**n

In [30]:
avg_num_collisions(28, 365)

Out[30]:
1.011442040700615
In [31]:
avg_num_collisions(1000, 1000)

Out[31]:
367.6954247709637
In [32]:
avg_num_collisions(1000, 10000)

Out[32]:
48.32893558556316

## Dealing with Collisions¶

To deal with collisions in a hashtable, we simply create a "chain" of key/value pairs for each bucket where collisions occur. The chain needs to be a data structure that supports quick insertion — natural choice: the linked list!

In [33]:
class Hashtable:
class Node:
def __init__(self, key, val, next=None):
self.key = key
self.val = val
self.next = next

def __init__(self, n_buckets=1000):
self.buckets = [None] * n_buckets

def __setitem__(self, key, val):
bucket_idx = hash(key) % len(self.buckets)
self.buckets[bucket_idx] = Hashtable.Node(key, val, self.buckets[bucket_idx])

def __getitem__(self, key):
bucket_idx = hash(key) % len(self.buckets)
n = self.buckets[bucket_idx]
while n:
if n.key == key:
return n.val
raise KeyError

def __contains__(self, key):
try:
_ = self[key]
return True
except:
return False

In [34]:
h = Hashtable(1)
h['batman'] = 'bruce wayne'
h['superman'] = 'clark kent'

In [35]:
n = h.buckets[0]
while n:
print(n.key, n.val)
n = n.next

superman clark kent
batman bruce wayne

In [36]:
def prep_ht(size):
ht = Hashtable(size*10)
for x in range(size):
ht[x] = x
return ht

def time_ht(size):
return timeit.timeit('ht[random.randrange({})]'.format(size),
'import random ; from __main__ import prep_ht ;'
'ht = prep_ht({})'.format(size),
number=100)

ht_timings = [time_ht(n)
for n in range(10, 10000, 100)]

In [37]:
%matplotlib inline
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
plt.plot(ht_timings, 'gs')
plt.plot(dict_timings, 'b^')
plt.show()


## Loose ends¶

### Iteration¶

In [43]:
class Hashtable(Hashtable):
def __iter__(self):
for b in self.buckets:
if not b:
next
else:
while b:
yield (b.key, b.val)
b = b.next

In [44]:
h = Hashtable()
for k, v in (('batman', 'bruce wayne'), ('superman', 'clark kent'), ('spiderman', 'peter parker')):
h[k] = v

In [47]:
for k, v in h:
print(k, ' => ', v)

spiderman  =>  peter parker
batman  =>  bruce wayne
superman  =>  clark kent


(Why out of order?)

It doesn't often make sense to start with a large number of buckets, unless we know in advance that the number of keys is going to be vast — also, the user of the hashtable would typically prefer to not be bothered with implementation details (i.e., bucket count) when using the data structure.

Instead: start with a relatively small number of buckets, and if the ratio of keys to the number of buckets (known as the load factor) is above some desired threshold — which we can determine using collision probabilities — we can dynamically increase the number of buckets. This requires, however, that we rehash all keys and potentially move them into new buckets (since the hash(key) % num_buckets mapping will likely be different with more buckets).

### Other APIs¶

• FIXED __setitem__ (to update value for existing key)
• __delitem__
• keys & values (return iterators for keys and values)
• setdefault

## Runtime analysis & Discussion¶

For a hashtable with $N$ key/value entries:

• Insertion: $O(N)$ (pathological case: if all keys hash to the same bucket = linear search!)
• Lookup: $O(N)$ (same as above)
• Deletion: $O(N)$ (same as above)

But, if hash codes are uniformly distributed across buckets, we can predict likelihood of collisions using birthday-problem-like analysis. With no (or minimal) collisions, lookups (and deletions) are practically constant time! Tradeoff: require a relatively large number of buckets — many of which aren't populated — and a concomitantly low load factor to pull this off.

## Vocabulary list¶

• hashtable
• hashing and hashes
• collision
• hash buckets & chains
• birthday problem
• rehashing

Remember: a given object must always hash to the same value. This is required so that we can always map the object to the same hash bucket.

Hashcodes for collections of objects are usually computed from the hashcodes of its contents, e.g., the hash of a tuple is a function of the hashes of the objects in said tuple:

In [68]:
hash(('two', 'strings'))

Out[68]:
3102074432333235275

This is useful. It allows us to use a tuple, for instance, as a key for a hashtable.

However, if the collection of objects is mutable — i.e., we can alter its contents — this means that we can potentially change its hashcode.

If we were to use such a collection as a key in a hashtable, and alter the collection after it's been assigned to a particular bucket, this leads to a serious problem: the collection may now be in the wrong bucket (as it was assigned to a bucket based on its original hashcode)!

For this reason, only immutable types are, by default, hashable in Python. So while we can use integers, strings, and tuples as keys in dictionaries, lists (which are mutable) cannot be used. Indeed, Python marks built-in mutable types as "unhashable", e.g.,

In [70]:
hash([1, 2, 3])

---------------------------------------------------------------------------
TypeError                                 Traceback (most recent call last)
<ipython-input-70-0b995650570c> in <module>()
----> 1 hash([1, 2, 3])

TypeError: unhashable type: 'list'

That said, Python does support hashing on instances of custom classes (which are mutable). This is because the default hash function implementation does not rely on the contents of instances of custom classes. E.g.,

In [89]:
class Student:
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
self.fname = fname
self.lname = lname

In [90]:
s = Student('John', 'Doe')
hash(s)

Out[90]:
285779127
In [91]:
s.fname = 'Jane'
hash(s) # same as before mutation

Out[91]:
285779127

We can change the default behavior by providing our own hash function in __hash__, e.g.,

In [92]:
class Student:
def __init__(self, fname, lname):
self.fname = fname
self.lname = lname

def __hash__(self):
return hash(self.fname) + hash(self.lname)

In [93]:
s = Student('John', 'Doe')
hash(s)

Out[93]:
5374966224057240494
In [94]:
s.fname = 'Jane'
hash(s)

Out[94]:
-1943263331614340742`

But be careful: instances of this class are no longer suitable for use as keys in hashtables (or dictionaries), if you intend to mutate them after using them as keys!