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Different Problems for which hash tables are not suitable

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Published by

sanya sanya

Published at: 6th Aug, 2023
0.98 mins read

While hash tables are versatile data structures with numerous advantages, there are certain scenarios or problems for which they may not be the most suitable choice. Here are some examples:

  1. Ordered Data: Hash tables do not inherently maintain any particular order among the stored elements. If the order of the data is significant and needs to be preserved, a hash table may not be the best option.

  2. Range Queries: Hash tables excel at retrieving individual elements by their keys. However, they are not well-suited for range queries, where you need to retrieve all elements within a given range of keys. Range queries typically require traversal of the data in a specific order, which is not supported by hash tables.

  3. Prefix Searching: Hash tables are not designed for efficient prefix searching. If you need to perform prefix-based searches or find keys that have a common prefix, specialized data structures like prefix tree would be more appropriate.

  4. Memory Constraints: Hash tables require a certain amount of memory to store the hash table itself and handle collisions. If memory is limited or needs to be conserved, hash tables may not be the best choice.

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