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annotate lispref/hash.texi @ 51667:52d50e52438f
(struct buffer_text): Lisp_Object `markers' => Lisp_Marker.
author | Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> |
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date | Thu, 26 Jun 2003 23:15:25 +0000 |
parents | b29f076f791a |
children | 695cf19ef79e |
rev | line source |
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25634 | 1 @c -*-texinfo-*- |
2 @c This is part of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual. | |
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3 @c Copyright (C) 1999, 2003 Free Software Foundation, Inc. |
25634 | 4 @c See the file elisp.texi for copying conditions. |
5 @setfilename ../info/hash | |
6 @node Hash Tables, Symbols, Sequences Arrays Vectors, Top | |
7 @chapter Hash Tables | |
8 @cindex hash tables | |
9 | |
10 A hash table is a very fast kind of lookup table, somewhat like | |
11 an alist in that it maps keys to corresponding values. It differs | |
12 from an alist in these ways: | |
13 | |
14 @itemize @bullet | |
15 @item | |
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16 Lookup in a hash table is extremely fast for large tables---in fact, the |
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17 time required is essentially @emph{independent} of how many elements are |
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18 stored in the table. For smaller tables (a few tens of elements) |
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19 alists may still be faster because hash tables have a more-or-less |
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20 constant overhead. |
25634 | 21 |
22 @item | |
23 The correspondences in a hash table are in no particular order. | |
24 | |
25 @item | |
26 There is no way to share structure between two hash tables, | |
27 the way two alists can share a common tail. | |
28 @end itemize | |
29 | |
30 Emacs Lisp (starting with Emacs 21) provides a general-purpose hash | |
31 table data type, along with a series of functions for operating on them. | |
32 Hash tables have no read syntax, and print in hash notation, like this: | |
33 | |
34 @example | |
35 (make-hash-table) | |
36 @result{} #<hash-table 'eql nil 0/65 0x83af980> | |
37 @end example | |
38 | |
26303 | 39 @noindent |
40 (The term ``hash notation'' refers to the initial @samp{#} | |
41 character---@pxref{Printed Representation}---and has nothing to do with | |
42 the term ``hash table.'') | |
43 | |
25634 | 44 Obarrays are also a kind of hash table, but they are a different type |
45 of object and are used only for recording interned symbols | |
46 (@pxref{Creating Symbols}). | |
47 | |
48 @menu | |
49 * Creating Hash:: | |
50 * Hash Access:: | |
51 * Defining Hash:: | |
52 * Other Hash:: | |
53 @end menu | |
54 | |
55 @node Creating Hash | |
56 @section Creating Hash Tables | |
57 | |
58 The principal function for creating a hash table is | |
59 @code{make-hash-table}. | |
60 | |
61 @tindex make-hash-table | |
62 @defun make-hash-table &rest keyword-args | |
63 This function creates a new hash table according to the specified | |
64 arguments. The arguments should consist of alternating keywords | |
65 (particular symbols recognized specially) and values corresponding to | |
66 them. | |
67 | |
68 Several keywords make sense in @code{make-hash-table}, but the only two | |
26182 | 69 that you really need to know about are @code{:test} and @code{:weakness}. |
25634 | 70 |
71 @table @code | |
72 @item :test @var{test} | |
73 This specifies the method of key lookup for this hash table. The | |
74 default is @code{eql}; @code{eq} and @code{equal} are other | |
75 alternatives: | |
76 | |
77 @table @code | |
78 @item eql | |
79 Keys which are numbers are ``the same'' if they are equal in value; | |
80 otherwise, two distinct objects are never ``the same''. | |
81 | |
82 @item eq | |
83 Any two distinct Lisp objects are ``different'' as keys. | |
84 | |
85 @item equal | |
86 Two Lisp objects are ``the same'', as keys, if they are equal | |
87 according to @code{equal}. | |
88 @end table | |
89 | |
90 You can use @code{define-hash-table-test} (@pxref{Defining Hash}) to | |
91 define additional possibilities for @var{test}. | |
92 | |
93 @item :weakness @var{weak} | |
94 The weakness of a hash table specifies whether the presence of a key or | |
95 value in the hash table preserves it from garbage collection. | |
96 | |
97 The value, @var{weak}, must be one of @code{nil}, @code{key}, | |
30524 | 98 @code{value}, @code{key-or-value}, @code{key-and-value}, or @code{t} |
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99 which is an alias for @code{key-or-value}. If @var{weak} is @code{key} |
30524 | 100 then the hash table does not prevent its keys from being collected as |
101 garbage (if they are not referenced anywhere else); if a particular key | |
102 does get collected, the corresponding association is removed from the | |
103 hash table. | |
25634 | 104 |
30524 | 105 If @var{weak} is @code{value}, then the hash table does not prevent |
106 values from being collected as garbage (if they are not referenced | |
107 anywhere else); if a particular value does get collected, the | |
25634 | 108 corresponding association is removed from the hash table. |
109 | |
38786 | 110 If @var{weak} is @code{key-or-value} or @code{t}, the hash table does |
111 not protect either keys or values from garbage collection; if either | |
112 one is collected as garbage, the association is removed. | |
113 | |
114 If @var{weak} is @code{key-and-value}, associations are removed from | |
115 the hash table when both their key and value would be collected as | |
116 garbage, again not considering references to the key and value from | |
117 weak hash tables. | |
30524 | 118 |
25634 | 119 The default for @var{weak} is @code{nil}, so that all keys and values |
25875 | 120 referenced in the hash table are preserved from garbage collection. If |
121 @var{weak} is @code{t}, neither keys nor values are protected (that is, | |
122 both are weak). | |
25634 | 123 |
124 @item :size @var{size} | |
125 This specifies a hint for how many associations you plan to store in the | |
126 hash table. If you know the approximate number, you can make things a | |
26182 | 127 little more efficient by specifying it this way. If you specify too |
25634 | 128 small a size, the hash table will grow automatically when necessary, but |
26303 | 129 doing that takes some extra time. |
25634 | 130 |
131 The default size is 65. | |
132 | |
133 @item :rehash-size @var{rehash-size} | |
134 When you add an association to a hash table and the table is ``full,'' | |
135 it grows automatically. This value specifies how to make the hash table | |
136 larger, at that time. | |
137 | |
25875 | 138 If @var{rehash-size} is an integer, it should be positive, and the hash |
139 table grows by adding that much to the nominal size. If | |
140 @var{rehash-size} is a floating point number, it had better be greater | |
141 than 1, and the hash table grows by multiplying the old size by that | |
142 number. | |
25634 | 143 |
144 The default value is 1.5. | |
145 | |
146 @item :rehash-threshold @var{threshold} | |
147 This specifies the criterion for when the hash table is ``full.'' The | |
148 value, @var{threshold}, should be a positive floating point number, no | |
149 greater than 1. The hash table is ``full'' whenever the actual number of | |
150 entries exceeds this fraction of the nominal size. The default for | |
151 @var{threshold} is 0.8. | |
152 @end table | |
153 @end defun | |
154 | |
155 @tindex makehash | |
156 @defun makehash &optional test | |
157 This is equivalent to @code{make-hash-table}, but with a different style | |
158 argument list. The argument @var{test} specifies the method | |
159 of key lookup. | |
160 | |
161 If you want to specify other parameters, you should use | |
162 @code{make-hash-table}. | |
163 @end defun | |
164 | |
165 @node Hash Access | |
166 @section Hash Table Access | |
167 | |
168 This section describes the functions for accessing and storing | |
169 associations in a hash table. | |
170 | |
171 @tindex gethash | |
172 @defun gethash key table &optional default | |
173 This function looks up @var{key} in @var{table}, and returns its | |
174 associated @var{value}---or @var{default}, if @var{key} has no | |
175 association in @var{table}. | |
176 @end defun | |
177 | |
178 @tindex puthash | |
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179 @defun puthash key value table |
25634 | 180 This function enters an association for @var{key} in @var{table}, with |
181 value @var{value}. If @var{key} already has an association in | |
182 @var{table}, @var{value} replaces the old associated value. | |
183 @end defun | |
184 | |
185 @tindex remhash | |
186 @defun remhash key table | |
187 This function removes the association for @var{key} from @var{table}, if | |
188 there is one. If @var{key} has no association, @code{remhash} does | |
189 nothing. | |
190 @end defun | |
191 | |
192 @tindex clrhash | |
193 @defun clrhash table | |
194 This function removes all the associations from hash table @var{table}, | |
195 so that it becomes empty. This is also called @dfn{clearing} the hash | |
196 table. | |
197 @end defun | |
198 | |
199 @tindex maphash | |
200 @defun maphash function table | |
201 This function calls @var{function} once for each of the associations in | |
202 @var{table}. The function @var{function} should accept two | |
203 arguments---a @var{key} listed in @var{table}, and its associated | |
204 @var{value}. | |
205 @end defun | |
206 | |
207 @node Defining Hash | |
208 @section Defining Hash Comparisons | |
209 @cindex hash code | |
210 | |
211 You can define new methods of key lookup by means of | |
212 @code{define-hash-table-test}. In order to use this feature, you need | |
213 to understand how hash tables work, and what a @dfn{hash code} means. | |
214 | |
215 You can think of a hash table conceptually as a large array of many | |
216 slots, each capable of holding one association. To look up a key, | |
217 @code{gethash} first computes an integer, the hash code, from the key. | |
218 It reduces this integer modulo the length of the array, to produce an | |
219 index in the array. Then it looks in that slot, and if necessary in | |
220 other nearby slots, to see if it has found the key being sought. | |
221 | |
222 Thus, to define a new method of key lookup, you need to specify both a | |
223 function to compute the hash code from a key, and a function to compare | |
224 two keys directly. | |
225 | |
226 @tindex define-hash-table-test | |
227 @defun define-hash-table-test name test-fn hash-fn | |
228 This function defines a new hash table test, named @var{name}. | |
229 | |
230 After defining @var{name} in this way, you can use it as the @var{test} | |
231 argument in @code{make-hash-table}. When you do that, the hash table | |
232 will use @var{test-fn} to compare key values, and @var{hash-fn} to compute | |
233 a ``hash code'' from a key value. | |
234 | |
235 The function @var{test-fn} should accept two arguments, two keys, and | |
236 return non-@code{nil} if they are considered ``the same.'' | |
237 | |
238 The function @var{hash-fn} should accept one argument, a key, and return | |
239 an integer that is the ``hash code'' of that key. For good results, the | |
240 function should use the whole range of integer values for hash codes, | |
241 including negative integers. | |
242 | |
243 The specified functions are stored in the property list of @var{name} | |
244 under the property @code{hash-table-test}; the property value's form is | |
245 @code{(@var{test-fn} @var{hash-fn})}. | |
246 @end defun | |
247 | |
248 @tindex sxhash | |
249 @defun sxhash obj | |
250 This function returns a hash code for Lisp object @var{obj}. | |
251 This is an integer which reflects the contents of @var{obj} | |
252 and the other Lisp objects it points to. | |
253 | |
254 If two objects @var{obj1} and @var{obj2} are equal, then @code{(sxhash | |
255 @var{obj1})} and @code{(sxhash @var{obj2})} are the same integer. | |
256 | |
257 If the two objects are not equal, the values returned by @code{sxhash} | |
258 are usually different, but not always; but once in a rare while, by | |
259 luck, you will encounter two distinct-looking objects that give the same | |
260 result from @code{sxhash}. | |
261 @end defun | |
262 | |
38786 | 263 This example creates a hash table whose keys are strings that are |
264 compared case-insensitively. | |
265 | |
266 @example | |
267 (defun case-fold-string= (a b) | |
268 (compare-strings a nil nil b nil nil t)) | |
269 | |
270 (defun case-fold-string-hash (a) | |
271 (sxhash (upcase a))) | |
272 | |
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273 (define-hash-table-test 'case-fold 'case-fold-string= |
38786 | 274 'case-fold-string-hash)) |
275 | |
276 (make-hash-table :test 'case-fold) | |
277 @end example | |
278 | |
279 Here is how you could define a hash table test equivalent to the | |
280 predefined test value @code{equal}. The keys can be any Lisp object, | |
281 and equal-looking objects are considered the same key. | |
282 | |
283 @example | |
284 (define-hash-table-test 'contents-hash 'equal 'sxhash) | |
285 | |
286 (make-hash-table :test 'contents-hash) | |
287 @end example | |
288 | |
25634 | 289 @node Other Hash |
290 @section Other Hash Table Functions | |
291 | |
292 Here are some other functions for working with hash tables. | |
293 | |
294 @tindex hash-table-p | |
295 @defun hash-table-p table | |
296 This returns non-@code{nil} if @var{table} is a hash table object. | |
297 @end defun | |
298 | |
299 @tindex copy-hash-table | |
300 @defun copy-hash-table table | |
301 This function creates and returns a copy of @var{table}. Only the table | |
302 itself is copied---the keys and values are shared. | |
303 @end defun | |
304 | |
305 @tindex hash-table-count | |
306 @defun hash-table-count table | |
307 This function returns the actual number of entries in @var{table}. | |
308 @end defun | |
309 | |
26182 | 310 @tindex hash-table-test |
311 @defun hash-table-test table | |
25875 | 312 This returns the @var{test} value that was given when @var{table} was |
313 created, to specify how to hash and compare keys. See | |
25634 | 314 @code{make-hash-table} (@pxref{Creating Hash}). |
315 @end defun | |
316 | |
317 @tindex hash-table-weakness | |
318 @defun hash-table-weakness table | |
319 This function returns the @var{weak} value that was specified for hash | |
320 table @var{table}. | |
321 @end defun | |
322 | |
323 @tindex hash-table-rehash-size | |
324 @defun hash-table-rehash-size table | |
325 This returns the rehash size of @var{table}. | |
326 @end defun | |
327 | |
328 @tindex hash-table-rehash-threshold | |
329 @defun hash-table-rehash-threshold table | |
330 This returns the rehash threshold of @var{table}. | |
331 @end defun | |
332 | |
26182 | 333 @tindex hash-table-size |
334 @defun hash-table-size table | |
25634 | 335 This returns the current nominal size of @var{table}. |
336 @end defun |