A Bloom Filter is a space-efficient probabilistic data structure used to test whether an element is a member of a set. It can yield false positives, but it guarantees that false negatives will not occur. The structure consists of a bit array of size and independent hash functions. When an element is added to the Bloom Filter, it is processed through each of the hash functions, which produce indices in the bit array that are then set to 1. To check for membership, the same hash functions are applied to the element, and if all the corresponding bits are 1, the element might be in the set; otherwise, it is definitely not.
The probability of false positives increases as more elements are added, and this can be controlled by adjusting the sizes of the bit array and the number of hash functions. Bloom Filters are widely used in applications such as database query optimization, web caching, and network routing, making them a powerful tool in various fields of computer science and data management.
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