Python Hash function and Hash Object

• Hashable

  • In general means an object has a hash value that never changes in its lifetime and can be compared to other objects. Thanks to those two features, a hashable object can be used as a key in a generic hash map
  • in python mmutable built-in objects are hashable while mutable containers (such as lists or dictionaries) are not. User-defined objects are by default hashable

• Hashtable

  • in general, hash table (hash map) is a data structure used to implement an associative array, a structure that can map keys to values. Each key given a hash value through hash function for lookup
  • in python, dictionary is an implementation of hashtable

• hash() in python

  • hash is a hash function that gives you a hash value (for the key inputed)

    In [1]: hash ('seed_of_wind')
    Out[1]: 8762898084756078118
    

  • As mentioned already, this distinctive 'id' is very useful for look up
  • in theory, a distinctive key will generate a distinctive hash value

By hash object, do you mean by hashable object? If so, it is covered above