as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
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describe how a hash table works.
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a hash table is an efficient data structure used to store key-value pairs. data is stored in the form of a key and a corresponding data value. the hash table uses a hashing function to calculate the hash code – a unique identifier – that is associated with each key. to look up the value of the key, the hash table uses the key’s hash code to locate the corresponding data value. as a result, data can be accessed quickly and efficiently.
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