[Vm-dev] Questions about hash
Eliot Miranda
eliot.miranda at gmail.com
Thu Jan 6 17:33:46 UTC 2011
On Thu, Jan 6, 2011 at 6:23 AM, Mariano Martinez Peck <marianopeck at gmail.com
> wrote:
>
> Hi folks. I am trying to understand a little how hash is assigned and how
> it works in the SqueakVM. I have a couple of questions:
>
> 1) There are 12 bits in the ObjectHeader for the hash. I saw that the value
> of this hash comes from #newObjectHash. But....this method answers a hash of
> 16 bit:
> newObjectHash
> "Answer a new 16-bit pseudo-random number for use as an identity hash."
>
> lastHash := 13849 + (27181 * lastHash) bitAnd: 65535.
> ^ lastHash
>
> Since in the OH we have 12 bits, each place where this method is used, then
> we have to do something like this:
>
> header1 := (classFormat bitAnd: 16r1FF00) bitOr: (hash << HashBitsOffset
> bitAnd: HashBits).
>
> or
>
> hash := self newObjectHash.
> header := (self longAt: newOop) bitAnd: 16r1FFFF.
> "use old ccIndex, format, size, and header-type fields"
> header := header bitOr: ((hash << 17) bitAnd: 16r1FFE0000).
>
> ....
> so, we always need to trim it to 12 bits using (hash << HashBitsOffset
> bitAnd: HashBits).
>
> Now, I wonder, why #newObjectHash does not answer a 12bits long hash
> directly ? is it because of the hash function performance?
>
>
> 2) It looks to me that not, but can it change the hash of an object? if
> true, why and where?
>
> 3) If #basicIdentityHash is ONLY used for Sets and friends, why not letting
> the hash assignment as late/lazy as possible? i mean, instead of creating
> and assigning a hash at object creation, what if we do this in #hashBitsOf:
> oop
> where we can check in the hash is empty and if true assign one.
> Would this make sense or it would be worst?
>
IMO it is far better and I will implement this in the new object
representation. VW has always had lazy hash creation.
Note in Cog the hash is derived from the allocation pointer not from the
pseudo-random hash generator, avoiding a read-modify-write cycle in object
allocation.
best
Eliot
> Thanks
>
> Mariano
>
>
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