How do I create a hash table in Java?

Question

What is the most straightforward way to create a hash table (or associative array...) in Java? My google-fu has turned up a couple examples, but is there a standard way to do t

Answer 1

It is important to note that Java's hash function is less than optimal. If you want less collisions and almost complete elimination of re-hashing at ~50% capacity, I'd use a Buz Hash algorithm Buz Hash

The reason Java's hashing algorithm is weak is most evident in how it hashes Strings.

"a".hash() give you the ASCII representation of "a" - 97, so "b" would be 98. The whole point of hashing is to assign an arbitrary and "as random as possible" number.

If you need a quick and dirty hash table, by all means, use java.util. If you are looking for something robust that is more scalable, I'd look into implementing your own.