[java] What is the use of hashCode in Java?

In Java, obj.hashCode() returns some value. What is the use of this hash code in programming?

Although hashcode does nothing with your business logic, we have to take care of it in most cases. Because when your object is put into a hash based container(HashSet, HashMap...), the container puts/gets the element's hashcode.

hashCode() is a function that takes an object and outputs a numeric value. The hashcode for an object is always the same if the object doesn't change.

Functions like HashMap, HashTable, HashSet, etc. that need to store objects will use a hashCode modulo the size of their internal array to choose in what "memory position" (i.e. array position) to store the object.

There are some cases where collisions may occur (two objects end up with the same hashcode), and that, of course, needs to be solved carefully.

One of the uses of hashCode() is building a Catching mechanism. Look at this example:

        class Point
    {
      public int x, y;

      public Point(int x, int y)
      {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
      }

      @Override
      public boolean equals(Object o)
      {
        if (this == o) return true;
        if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;

        Point point = (Point) o;

        if (x != point.x) return false;
        return y == point.y;
      }

      @Override
      public int hashCode()
      {
        int result = x;
        result = 31 * result + y;
        return result;
      }

class Line
{
  public Point start, end;

  public Line(Point start, Point end)
  {
    this.start = start;
    this.end = end;
  }

  @Override
  public boolean equals(Object o)
  {
    if (this == o) return true;
    if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;

    Line line = (Line) o;

    if (!start.equals(line.start)) return false;
    return end.equals(line.end);
  }

  @Override
  public int hashCode()
  {
    int result = start.hashCode();
    result = 31 * result + end.hashCode();
    return result;
  }
}
class LineToPointAdapter implements Iterable<Point>
{
  private static int count = 0;
  private static Map<Integer, List<Point>> cache = new HashMap<>();
  private int hash;

  public LineToPointAdapter(Line line)
  {
    hash = line.hashCode();
    if (cache.get(hash) != null) return; // we already have it

    System.out.println(
      String.format("%d: Generating points for line [%d,%d]-[%d,%d] (no caching)",
        ++count, line.start.x, line.start.y, line.end.x, line.end.y));
}

The value returned by hashCode() is the object's hash code, which is the object's memory address in hexadecimal.

By definition, if two objects are equal, their hash code must also be equal. If you override the equals() method, you change the way two objects are equated and Object's implementation of hashCode() is no longer valid. Therefore, if you override the equals() method, you must also override the hashCode() method as well.

This answer is from the java SE 8 official tutorial documentation

hashCode() is used for bucketing in Hash implementations like HashMap, HashTable, HashSet, etc.

The value received from hashCode() is used as the bucket number for storing elements of the set/map. This bucket number is the address of the element inside the set/map.

When you do contains() it will take the hash code of the element, then look for the bucket where hash code points to. If more than 1 element is found in the same bucket (multiple objects can have the same hash code), then it uses the equals() method to evaluate if the objects are equal, and then decide if contains() is true or false, or decide if element could be added in the set or not.

hashCode

Whenever you override equals(), you are also expected to override hashCode(). The hash code is used when storing the object as a key in a map.

A hash code is a number that puts instances of a class into a finite number of categories. Imagine that I gave you a deck of cards, and I told you that I was going to ask you for specific cards and I want to get the right card back quickly. You have as long as you want to prepare, but I’m in a big hurry when I start asking for cards. You might make 13 piles of cards: All of the aces in one pile, all the twos in another pile, and so forth. That way, when I ask for the five of hearts, you can just pull the right card out of the four cards in the pile with fives. It is certainly faster than going through the whole deck of 52 cards! You could even make 52 piles if you had enough space on the table.

reference : OCP Oracle Certified Professional Java SE 8 Programmer II

hashCode() is a unique code which is generated by the JVM for every object creation.

We use hashCode() to perform some operation on hashing related algorithm like Hashtable, Hashmap etc..

The advantages of hashCode() make searching operation easy because when we search for an object that has unique code, it helps to find out that object.

But we can't say hashCode() is the address of an object. It is a unique code generated by JVM for every object.

That is why nowadays hashing algorithm is the most popular search algorithm.

A hashcode is a number generated from any object.

This is what allows objects to be stored/retrieved quickly in a Hashtable.

Imagine the following simple example:

On the table in front of you. you have nine boxes, each marked with a number 1 to 9. You also have a pile of wildly different objects to store in these boxes, but once they are in there you need to be able to find them as quickly as possible.

What you need is a way of instantly deciding which box you have put each object in. It works like an index. you decide to find the cabbage so you look up which box the cabbage is in, then go straight to that box to get it.

Now imagine that you don't want to bother with the index, you want to be able to find out immediately from the object which box it lives in.

In the example, let's use a really simple way of doing this - the number of letters in the name of the object. So the cabbage goes in box 7, the pea goes in box 3, the rocket in box 6, the banjo in box 5 and so on.

What about the rhinoceros, though? It has 10 characters, so we'll change our algorithm a little and "wrap around" so that 10-letter objects go in box 1, 11 letters in box 2 and so on. That should cover any object.

Sometimes a box will have more than one object in it, but if you are looking for a rocket, it's still much quicker to compare a peanut and a rocket, than to check a whole pile of cabbages, peas, banjos, and rhinoceroses.

That's a hash code. A way of getting a number from an object so it can be stored in a Hashtable. In Java, a hash code can be any integer, and each object type is responsible for generating its own. Lookup the "hashCode" method of Object.

Source - here

From the Javadoc:

Returns a hash code value for the object. This method is supported for the benefit of hashtables such as those provided by java.util.Hashtable.

The general contract of hashCode is:

• Whenever it is invoked on the same object more than once during an execution of a Java application, the hashCode method must consistently return the same integer, provided no information used in equals comparisons on the object is modified. This integer need not remain consistent from one execution of an application to another execution of the same application.

• If two objects are equal according to the equals(Object) method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce the same integer result.

• It is not required that if two objects are unequal according to the equals(java.lang.Object) method, then calling the hashCode method on each of the two objects must produce distinct integer results. However, the programmer should be aware that producing distinct integer results for unequal objects may improve the performance of hashtables.

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 programming language.)