What is the use of hashCode in Java?

hashCode() is a function that takes an object and outputs a numeric value. The hashcode for an object is always the same if the object doesn't change.

Functions like HashMap, HashTable, HashSet, etc. that need to store objects will use a hashCode modulo the size of their internal array to choose in what "memory position" (i.e. array position) to store the object.

There are some cases where collisions may occur (two objects end up with the same hashcode), and that, of course, needs to be solved carefully.

The value returned by hashCode() is the object's hash code, which is the object's memory address in hexadecimal.

By definition, if two objects are equal, their hash code must also be equal. If you override the equals() method, you change the way two objects are equated and Object's implementation of hashCode() is no longer valid. Therefore, if you override the equals() method, you must also override the hashCode() method as well.

This answer is from the java SE 8 official tutorial documentation

A hashcode is a number generated from any object.

This is what allows objects to be stored/retrieved quickly in a Hashtable.

Imagine the following simple example:

On the table in front of you. you have nine boxes, each marked with a number 1 to 9. You also have a pile of wildly different objects to store in these boxes, but once they are in there you need to be able to find them as quickly as possible.

What you need is a way of instantly deciding which box you have put each object in. It works like an index. you decide to find the cabbage so you look up which box the cabbage is in, then go straight to that box to get it.

Now imagine that you don't want to bother with the index, you want to be able to find out immediately from the object which box it lives in.

In the example, let's use a really simple way of doing this - the number of letters in the name of the object. So the cabbage goes in box 7, the pea goes in box 3, the rocket in box 6, the banjo in box 5 and so on.

What about the rhinoceros, though? It has 10 characters, so we'll change our algorithm a little and "wrap around" so that 10-letter objects go in box 1, 11 letters in box 2 and so on. That should cover any object.

Sometimes a box will have more than one object in it, but if you are looking for a rocket, it's still much quicker to compare a peanut and a rocket, than to check a whole pile of cabbages, peas, banjos, and rhinoceroses.

That's a hash code. A way of getting a number from an object so it can be stored in a Hashtable. In Java, a hash code can be any integer, and each object type is responsible for generating its own. Lookup the "hashCode" method of Object.

Source - here

hashCode() is a unique code which is generated by the JVM for every object creation.

We use hashCode() to perform some operation on hashing related algorithm like Hashtable, Hashmap etc..

The advantages of hashCode() make searching operation easy because when we search for an object that has unique code, it helps to find out that object.

But we can't say hashCode() is the address of an object. It is a unique code generated by JVM for every object.

That is why nowadays hashing algorithm is the most popular search algorithm.

One of the uses of hashCode() is building a Catching mechanism. Look at this example:

        class Point
    {
      public int x, y;

      public Point(int x, int y)
      {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
      }

      @Override
      public boolean equals(Object o)
      {
        if (this == o) return true;
        if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;

        Point point = (Point) o;

        if (x != point.x) return false;
        return y == point.y;
      }

      @Override
      public int hashCode()
      {
        int result = x;
        result = 31 * result + y;
        return result;
      }

class Line
{
  public Point start, end;

  public Line(Point start, Point end)
  {
    this.start = start;
    this.end = end;
  }

  @Override
  public boolean equals(Object o)
  {
    if (this == o) return true;
    if (o == null || getClass() != o.getClass()) return false;

    Line line = (Line) o;

    if (!start.equals(line.start)) return false;
    return end.equals(line.end);
  }

  @Override
  public int hashCode()
  {
    int result = start.hashCode();
    result = 31 * result + end.hashCode();
    return result;
  }
}
class LineToPointAdapter implements Iterable<Point>
{
  private static int count = 0;
  private static Map<Integer, List<Point>> cache = new HashMap<>();
  private int hash;

  public LineToPointAdapter(Line line)
  {
    hash = line.hashCode();
    if (cache.get(hash) != null) return; // we already have it

    System.out.println(
      String.format("%d: Generating points for line [%d,%d]-[%d,%d] (no caching)",
        ++count, line.start.x, line.start.y, line.end.x, line.end.y));
}