What is the correct way to define __hash__?

[Robert Kern]

On 2009-10-12 15:45 PM, Peng Yu wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I'm wondering what is the general way to define __hash__. I could add
> up all the members. But I am wondering if this would cause a
> performance issue for certain classes.

Unless if you are very familiar with the math of hash functions, I don't 
recommend that you try to implement one directly. Instead, make a tuple of the 
hashable content of your class and return the result of calling hash() on that 
tuple. Be sure to make your equality comparison do the right thing.

class A(object):
   def __init__(self, a, b):
     self.a = a
     self.b = b

   def _key(self):
     # I include the name of the class so as to differentiate between other
     # classes that might also have a _key() method. If you have several classes
     # or subclasses that are allowed to compare equal to each other, use some
     # other common string here.
     return (type(self).__name__, a, b)

   def __hash__(self):
     return hash(self._key())

   # Coincidentally, the _key() method can usually be reused for comparisons.
   # I recommend doing this for the equality comparisons, at least, when you can
   # because of the requirement that two items that compare equal must have the
   # same hash value.
   def __eq__(self, other):
     return self._key() == other._key()

   def __ne__(self, other):
     return not (self == other)

   ...

-- 
Robert Kern

"I have come to believe that the whole world is an enigma, a harmless enigma
  that is made terrible by our own mad attempt to interpret it as though it had
  an underlying truth."
   -- Umberto Eco