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All questions of Hashmaps for Software Development Exam

Which of the following best describes a hashmap?
  • a)
    An ordered collection of key-value pairs.
  • b)
    A data structure that allows duplicate values.
  • c)
    A data structure that provides constant-time access to elements based on their keys.
  • d)
    A collection of elements sorted in ascending order.
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Aashna Sharma answered

Hashmap

Hashmap is a data structure that provides constant-time access to elements based on their keys. This means that regardless of the size of the hashmap, the time taken to retrieve an element is the same, making it very efficient for lookups.

Key Characteristics of Hashmap:

- Key-Value Pairs: A hashmap is a collection of key-value pairs where each key is unique.
- Constant-Time Access: Hashmap allows for constant-time access to elements based on their keys, making it very efficient for retrieving values.
- Hashing Function: Hashmap uses a hashing function to map keys to their corresponding values, allowing for quick lookup.
- Dynamic Sizing: Hashmap can dynamically resize itself to accommodate more elements without affecting performance.
- No Duplicate Keys: Hashmap does not allow duplicate keys, ensuring each key is unique in the collection.

Benefits of Using Hashmap:

- Efficient Lookups: Hashmap provides constant-time access to elements, making it ideal for applications requiring fast retrieval of data.
- Flexibility: Hashmap can store a wide range of data types as values, providing flexibility in how data is stored and accessed.
- Scalability: Hashmap can grow in size as more elements are added, ensuring optimal performance even with large datasets.
- Easy to Use: Hashmap is easy to use and implement, making it a popular choice for developers in various programming languages.
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Which of the following statements about open addressing is false?
  • a)
    Open addressing avoids the use of auxiliary data structures for collision resolution.
  • b)
    Open addressing requires all keys to be stored in the hashmap itself.
  • c)
    Open addressing can lead to clustering when many collisions occur.
  • d)
    Open addressing can handle more elements than separate chaining.
Correct answer is option 'D'. Can you explain this answer?

Aryan Ghosh answered
Open addressing is a technique used for resolving collisions in a hash table. In open addressing, when a collision occurs (i.e., when two keys hash to the same index), the algorithm looks for the next available slot in the table to store the key-value pair.

Statement D states that open addressing can handle more elements than separate chaining. However, this statement is false, as open addressing has a limitation on the number of elements it can handle, whereas separate chaining does not have such a limitation.

Open addressing vs Separate chaining
To understand why statement D is false, it is important to compare open addressing with separate chaining.

- Open addressing:
- In open addressing, all keys are stored in the hashmap itself. This means that the size of the hashmap needs to be determined in advance, and it cannot be dynamically resized.
- When a collision occurs, open addressing uses a probing sequence to find the next available slot in the table. This probing sequence can be linear, quadratic, or double hashing.
- If the table becomes full and there are no more available slots for storing new elements, it becomes impossible to insert additional elements. This is known as hash table overflow.
- Open addressing can lead to clustering when many collisions occur. Clustering refers to the phenomenon where consecutive slots in the table become occupied, leading to longer probe sequences.

- Separate chaining:
- In separate chaining, each slot in the hashmap is a linked list that stores all the key-value pairs hashing to that index.
- Separate chaining does not require all keys to be stored in the hashmap itself. The hashmap can dynamically resize and accommodate more elements as needed.
- When a collision occurs, the key-value pair is added to the linked list at the corresponding index.
- Separate chaining does not suffer from clustering, as the linked lists can grow independently without affecting the performance of other slots.

Conclusion:
Statement D is false because open addressing cannot handle more elements than separate chaining. Open addressing has a limitation on the number of elements it can handle, as it requires the size of the hashmap to be determined in advance. In contrast, separate chaining can dynamically resize and accommodate more elements as needed, making it more flexible in handling a larger number of elements.

What is the time complexity of searching for an element in a hashmap?
  • a)
    O(1)
  • b)
    O(log n)
  • c)
    O(n)
  • d)
    O(n^2)
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

KnowIT answered
Searching for an element in a hashmap has an average time complexity of O(1). However, in the worst case scenario, it can be O(n) if all elements collide.

Which data structure is commonly used to implement hashmaps?
  • a)
    Linked list
  • b)
    Array
  • c)
    Stack
  • d)
    Binary tree
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

KnowIT answered
Hashmaps are commonly implemented using an array of linked lists. This allows handling collisions by chaining.

What is the time complexity of finding the maximum element in a hashmap?
  • a)
    O(1)
  • b)
    O(log n)
  • c)
    O(n)
  • d)
    O(n^2)
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Tanuj Arora answered
Finding the maximum element in a hashmap requires traversing all the elements, resulting in a time complexity of O(n).

Which of the following collision resolution techniques is used in open addressing?
  • a)
    Linked lists
  • b)
    Red-black trees
  • c)
    Linear probing
  • d)
    Hash functions
Correct answer is option 'C'. Can you explain this answer?

Anil Kumar answered
Linear probing is a collision resolution technique used in open addressing. It probes the next slot in a linear fashion until an available slot is found.

In case of a collision in a hashmap, which technique is commonly used to handle it?
  • a)
    Chaining
  • b)
    Sorting
  • c)
    Rehashing
  • d)
    Partitioning
Correct answer is option 'A'. Can you explain this answer?

KnowIT answered
Chaining is a common technique used to handle collisions in hashmaps. It involves storing multiple elements with the same hash value in the same location using linked lists.

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