I'm wondering what is the best practice for writing #hashCode() method in java. Good description can be found here. Is it that good?
- possible duplicate of stackoverflow.com/questions/113511/hash-code-implementationYishai– Yishai2010-04-29 16:21:37 +00:00Commented Apr 29, 2010 at 16:21
- I don't think it really is as current post has a bit wider scope.Denys S.– Denys S.2010-04-29 16:24:39 +00:00Commented Apr 29, 2010 at 16:24
- Can you please clarify how your question is different, then? They look the same to me.Michael Myers– Michael Myers ♦2010-04-29 16:31:13 +00:00Commented Apr 29, 2010 at 16:31
- @mmyers: If we're talking about question, then difference lies at least in their formulation. As for contents, many answers there do answer this one.Denys S.– Denys S.2010-04-29 16:43:10 +00:00Commented Apr 29, 2010 at 16:43
- possible duplicate of stackoverflow.com/questions/2735037/…polygenelubricants– polygenelubricants2010-04-30 02:03:55 +00:00Commented Apr 30, 2010 at 2:03
3 Answers
Here's a quote from Effective Java 2nd Edition, Item 9: "Always override hashCode when you override equals":
While the recipe in this item yields reasonably good hash functions, it does not yield state-of-the-art hash functions, nor do Java platform libraries provide such hash functions as of release 1.6. Writing such hash functions is a research topic, best left to mathematicians and computer scientists. [... Nonetheless,] the techniques described in this item should be adequate for most applications.
Josh Bloch's recipe
- Store some constant nonzero value, say 17, in an
intvariable calledresult - Compute an
inthashcodecfor each fieldfthat definesequals:- If the field is a
boolean, compute(f ? 1 : 0) - If the field is a
byte, char, short, int, compute(int) f - If the field is a
long, compute(int) (f ^ (f >>> 32)) - If the field is a
float, computeFloat.floatToIntBits(f) - If the field is a
double, computeDouble.doubleToLongBits(f), then hash the resultinglongas in above - If the field is an object reference and this class's
equalsmethod compares the field by recursively invokingequals, recursively invokehashCodeon the field. If the value of the field isnull, return 0 - If the field is an array, treat it as if each element is a separate field. If every element in an array field is significant, you can use one of the
Arrays.hashCodemethods added in release 1.5
- If the field is a
- Combine the hashcode
cintoresultas follows:result = 31 * result + c;
Now, of course that recipe is rather complicated, but luckily, you don't have to reimplement it every time, thanks to java.util.Arrays.hashCode(Object[]).
@Override public int hashCode() { return Arrays.hashCode(new Object[] { myInt, //auto-boxed myDouble, //auto-boxed myString, }); } As of Java 7 there is a convenient varargs variant in java.util.Objects.hash(Object...).
Comments
A great reference for an implementation of hashCode() is described in the book Effective Java. After you understand the theory behind generating a good hash function, you may check HashCodeBuilder from Apache commons lang, which implements what's described in the book. From the docs:
This class enables a good hashCode method to be built for any class. It follows the rules laid out in the book Effective Java by Joshua Bloch. Writing a good hashCode method is actually quite difficult. This class aims to simplify the process.
Comments
It's good, as @leonbloy says, to understand it well. Even then, however, one "best" practice is to simply let your IDE write the function for you. It won't be optimal under some circumstances - and in some very rare circumstances it won't even be good - but for most situations, it's easy, repeatable, error-free, and as good (as a hash code) as it needs to be. Sure, read the docs and understand it well - but don't complicate it unnecessarily.