Question

What can be the value of m in the division method?

(a) Any prime number

(b) Any even number

(c) 2^p – 1

(d) 2^p

I want to ask this question from Hash Tables in section Hash Tables of Data Structures & Algorithms I

I have been asked this question in unit test.

Answer 1

Correct option is (a) Any prime number

Easy explanation - A prime number not too close to an exact power of 2 is often a good choice for m since it reduces the number of collisions which are likely to occur.