collection hash (standard)

In computing, a hash table (also hash map) is a data structure used to implement an associative array, a structure that can map keys to values. A hash table uses a hash function to compute an index into an array of buckets or slots, from which the correct value can be found. Ideally, the hash function should assign each possible key to a unique bucket, but this ideal situation is rarely achievable in practice (unless the hash keys are fixed; i.e. new entries are never added to the table after it is created). Instead, most hash table designs assume that hash collisions—different keys that are assigned by the hash function to the same bucket—will occur and must be accommodated in some way. In a well-dimensioned hash table, the average cost (number of instructions) for each lookup is independent of the number of elements stored in the table. Many hash table designs also allow arbitrary insertions and deletions of key-value pairs, at (amortized[2]) constant average cost per operation.