NIST

quadratic probing

(algorithm)

Definition: A method of open addressing for a hash table in which a collision is resolved by putting the item in the next empty place given by a probe sequence. The space between places in the sequence increases quadratically.

See also double hashing, linear probing.

Note: Deletion may be hard because finding collisions again relies on not creating empty spots. One solution is to mark an entry as deleted so it can be reused for insertion, but the search list is intact.

Author: PEB

Implementation

insert (C and Pascal)
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Entry modified 26 April 2021.
HTML page formatted Mon Apr 26 09:29:23 2021.

Cite this as:
Paul E. Black, "quadratic probing", in Dictionary of Algorithms and Data Structures [online], Paul E. Black, ed. 26 April 2021. (accessed TODAY) Available from: https://www.nist.gov/dads/HTML/quadraticprb.html