Full table quadratic searching for scatter storage

Abstract

The quadratic residue search method for hash tables avoids much of the clustering experienced with a linear search method. The simple quadratic search only accesses half the table. It has been shown that when the length of the table is a prime of the form 4 n + 3, where n is an integer, the whole table may be accessed by two quadratic searches plus a separate access for the original entry point. A search method is presented which is computationally simple, has all the advantages of the quadratic search, and yet accesses all the table in one sweep.