Resizing and Load Factor
Performance tuning.
What Is Load Factor
The load factor is the ratio of stored entries to buckets: alpha = size / capacity. It measures how full the table is and directly affects performance.
Why Load Factor Matters
As the load factor rises, buckets hold longer chains (or probes cluster), so operations slow down.
- Low alpha: fast but wastes memory
- High alpha: compact but slow
A common target is 0.75 for chaining.
All lessons in this course
- Hash Functions
- Collision Handling
- Insert, Lookup, Delete
- Resizing and Load Factor