Hash Tables + Counting

For most of the class today we talked about the hash table assignment, in which you have to implement a hash table three different ways.I gave demo code showing how to insert into a hash table using double hashing and then with chaining (with BSTs).

I talked about UNIX shell scripting, which is super cool awesome sauce, and then how to use command line parameters to connect the command line to your code.

I gave advice on how to generate the data needed for the assignment, and showed how to graph data in Excel.

Finally, we started our discussion on counting and set theory, with two learning points for today:
1) If you can partition a set into disjoint sets (sets with no elements in common) then you can count a large set by adding up the size of the smaller sets.
2) For a lot of numeric sets, you can work with them more easily (some of the time, not all the time) by replacing all the numbers in them with the average value. Examples were given from Dungeons and Dragons on how it allows computing average damage on fireballs more easily.