The fundamentals of Hash tables?

Question

I\'m quite confused about the basic concepts of a Hash table. If I were to code a hash how would I even begin? What is the difference between a Hash table and just a normal

Answer 1

[This is the reply to a comment made by me.yahoo.com/a above]

That depends on your hash function. Lets suppose that your hash function hashes a word as per the length of your word, the key for chris will be 5. Similarly, key for yahoo will also be 5. Now, both values (chris and yahoo) will go under 5 (i.e. in a 'bucket' keyed by 5). This way you don't have to make an array equal to the size of your data.