Perfect hashing is a technique used to create a hash table that guarantees constant time complexity for search operations, with no collisions. This is achieved by constructing a hash function that uniquely maps each key in a set to a distinct index in the hash table. The process typically involves two phases:
Static Hashing: The first step involves selecting a hash function that minimizes collisions for a given set of keys. This can be done by using a family of hash functions and choosing one based on the specific keys at hand.
Dynamic Hashing: The second phase is to create a secondary hash table for handling collisions, which is necessary if the initial hash function yields any. However, in perfect hashing, this secondary table is designed such that it has no collisions for the keys it processes.
The major advantage of perfect hashing is that it provides a space-efficient structure for static sets, ensuring that every key is mapped to a unique slot without the need for linked lists or other collision resolution strategies.
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