Java Object.hashCode() - address or random()?

Question

I\'m trying to understand the native implementation of the hashCode() method. What exactly does this method return? Is it a memory address or is it a random val

Answer 1

Your answer lies here. As mentioned in the documentation:

As much as is reasonably practical, the hashCode method defined by class Object does return distinct integers for distinct objects. (This is typically implemented by converting the internal address of the object into an integer, but this implementation technique is not required by the Java^TM programming language.)