Question

in a hash table using linear probing, there is a difference between those spots which have never been used and those spots which have previously been used but no longer contain an item. which function(s) could not work without this difference?

Answer 1

In hash tables with linear probing, the deletion function requires distinguishing between never-used and once-used spots to ensure correct item search and delete operations in order to resolve collisions and maintain data integrity after deletions.

Step-by-step explanation:

In a hash table using linear probing, the ability to differentiate between spots that have never been used and those that were previously used but are now empty is crucial for the deletion function. When an item is deleted from a hash table, we typically mark its spot as deleted rather than completely erasing it. This is because linear probing relies on a continuous sequence of filled or previously filled slots to resolve collisions. If an empty slot (indicating it has never been used) is encountered during the search process, this signals the end of the cluster, and we can conclude the item is not in the table. However, if we encounter a slot marked as deleted, we must keep searching because the item may still be located further along in the probe sequence. Without this distinction, the search and delete functions could falsely report that an item is not present when, in fact, it is still within the table but past a slot that was once filled and now appears to be empty.