hashkey/digest for a complex object
Robert Kern
robert.kern at gmail.com
Wed Oct 6 15:31:59 EDT 2010
On 10/6/10 1:58 PM, kj wrote:
>
> The short version of this question is: where can I find the algorithm
> used by the tuple class's __hash__ method?
The function tuplehash() in Objects/tupleobject.c, predictably enough.
> Now, for the long version of this question, I'm working with some
> complext Python objects that I want to be able to compare for
> equality easily.
>
> These objects are non-mutable once they are created, so I would
> like to use a two-step comparison for equality, based on the
> assumption that I can compute (either at creation time, or as needed
> and memoized) a hashkey/digest for each object. The test for
> equality of two of these objects would first compare their hashkeys.
> If they are different, the two objects are declared different; if
> they match, then a more stringent test for equality is performed.
The most straightforward way to implement __hash__ for a complicated object is
to normalize its relevant data to a tuple of hashable objects and then call
hash() on that tuple. A straightforward way to compare such objects is to
calculate that very same normalized tuple for each one and compare those tuples.
Cache it if necessary. Don't bother hashing to implement __eq__ unless if you
are really optimizing for space and time.
--
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
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