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Hash

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(Computer science) Hash Function

A hash function maps from a large value to a smaller value. For instance, a variable length string could be mapped to an integer value or a smaller string.

Use of Hash functions

Password encryption

One use of hashes is to encrypt passwords. If a hash function uses a large amount of CPU cycles, the hash of a password can be stored in a password file instead of the actual password. The system can verify the password by hashing the input password and comparing the hashed values. This works because a hash is generally a one way function, since it is mapping a large  ?domain to a smaller  ?range

Maps

A hash algorithm is often used in a Hashtable, also known as a Map, since it can map an input Key to an output Value
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