
Hash collisions explained with a tiny phone book
Trace separate chaining in a five-bucket phone book, distinguish a hash collision from a duplicate key, and explain the assumptions behind expected constant time.
The journal / Ideas in progress
Engineering & everyday learningSoftware, systems, and the things I’m learning along the way. From first principles to AI in production.
Find something to readA little theory. A lot of practice.

Trace separate chaining in a five-bucket phone book, distinguish a hash collision from a duplicate key, and explain the assumptions behind expected constant time.

Model order identity, reject orphan references, inspect cascades and separate database relationships from the policy for deleting a paid order.

Replace a three-bit field in an eight-bit word, verify unaffected bits, and see why device registers need a separate access contract.

Mark row and column headers in a plan comparison, preserve units and accessible names, and keep wide tables usable on narrow screens.

Count the comparisons in a contact search, then see what changes when the list is sorted or indexed. A practical introduction to Big O with JavaScript.