The __hash__() method
The built-in hash() function invokes the __hash__() method of a given object. This hash is a calculation which reduces a (potentially complex) value to a small integer value. Ideally, a hash reflects all the bits of the source value. Other hash calculations—often used for cryptographic purposes—can produce very large values.
Python includes two hash libraries. The cryptographic-quality hash functions are in hashlib. The zlib module has two high-speed hash functions: adler32() and crc32(). For relatively simple values, we don't use either of these. For large, complex values, these algorithms can be of help.
The hash() function (and the associated __hash__() method) is used to create a small integer key that is used to work with ...
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