Lab 14 extra: Hash Tables

Task 0: Review hash table basics
Task 1: Practice using a hash table (to complete on your own)

Task 0: Review hash table basics

Your work for this task should be done on paper. Please show your work to a staff member before you leave the lab.

Consider the hash table shown below. Assume that:

It was filled using the hash function from lecture:
```
h(key) = key.charAt(0) - 'a'
```
(In other words, the hash code of a key is the ASCII code of its first character minus the ASCII code of 'a'.)
Collisions were resolved using linear probing.
Gray cells are ones from which an item has been removed.
White cells are ones in which an item has never been inserted.
Occupied cells contain the key of their key-value pair.

0	aardvark
1
2	cat
3	bear
4
5	dog
6

Which item in the table has been inserted incorrectly? How can we be certain?
If we insert an item with a key of "ferret" into the table using linear probing, what is the probe sequence that would be used? (In other words, what sequence of positions would be considered by the insert() method to determine where the item should go?)
If we insert an item with a key of "ferret" into the table using linear probing, where would it end up?

Now consider the following hash table, which was filled using the same hash function but with quadratic probing.

0	aardvark
1	bison
2	cat
3	canary
4
5
6

If we insert an item with a key of "dolphin" into the table using quadratic probing, what is the probe sequence? Where would the item end up?
After inserting "dolphin", we now insert an item with a key of "ant" using quadratic probing. What is the probe sequence? Where would the item end up?
If this table were implemented using the same hash function but with separate chaining, what it would look like? Include both the original keys and the new ones ("dolphin" and "ant").

Task 1: Practice using a hash table (to complete on your own)

In lecture, we have been considering the OpenHashTable class. Let’s practice writing client code for this class.

Begin by downloading the following zip file: lab14.zip

Unzip this archive, and you should find a folder named lab14, and within it the files you will need for this lab.

Open OpenHashTable.java, write a simple main method to include the following:.

Create an instance of the class:
```
OpenHashTable table = new OpenHashTable(7);
```
This will create an OpenHashTable object with a size of 7. It will use double hashing, because that is the default method of probing in the OpenHashTable class.

Insert several key-value pairs:

table.insert("ant", 23);
table.insert("bee", 10);
table.insert("ant", 30);

If we make the call to insert(), within a System.out.println statement, the we will see that this method returns either true (if the key-value pair was successfully inserted) or false (if there was overflow and the key-value pair could not be inserted).
```
System.out.println( table.insert("bee", 50) );
```
will output:
```
true
```
We can then search for a given key as follows:
```
System.out.prinln( table.search("ant") );
System.out.println( table.search("antelope") );
```
will output:
```
{23, 30}
null
```
Note that search() returns either an LLQueue object containing the values associated with the key (which is displayed as a set of values), or null if the key isn’t found.
Now perform the following insertion:
```
table.insert("cow", 10);
```
The key "cow" now has a single value associated with it. Complete the following line of code so that it retrieves the queue containing this value and assigns it to the variable values:
```
Queue<Object> values = _______________________;
```
Check that the queue contains the expected value:
```
System.out.println( values );
```
should output:
```
{10}
```
Now let’s say that you want to change the value associated with the key "cow" – multiplying its current value (which you should pretend that you don’t know) by 2.

To do so, you will need to do the following:
- remove the current value from the queue, using casting to obtain a value that is an integer:
```
int val = (Integer)values.remove();
```
- insert the doubled value in the queue:
```
values._____________________________
```
  (If necessary, consult the Queue interface to remind yourself of the signature of the method you should use.)
Use the search() method to check that the value associated with "cow" has been changed:
```
_____________________________
```
to output:
```
{20}
```