hash collision

hash collision
 n.

   [from the techspeak] (var.: hash clash) When used of people, signifies
   a confusion in associative memory or imagination, especially a
   persistent one (see {thinko}). True story: One of us [ESR] was once on
   the phone with a friend about to move out to Berkeley. When asked what
   he expected Berkeley to be like, the friend replied: "Well, I have
   this mental picture of naked women throwing Molotov cocktails, but I
   think that's just a collision in my hash tables." Compare {hash
   bucket}.
    

hash collision

   <programming> (Or "hash clash") When two different keys hash
   to the same value, i.e. to the same location in a {hash
   table}.

   {ESR} once asked a friend what he expected Berkeley to be
   like.  The friend replied, "Well, I have this mental picture
   of naked women throwing Molotov cocktails, but I think that's
   just a collision in my hash tables."

   [{Jargon File}]

   (1995-01-23)