5 lh_new, lh_free, lh_insert, lh_delete, lh_retrieve, lh_doall, lh_doall_arg, lh_error - dynamic hash table
9 #include <openssl/lhash.h>
11 DECLARE_LHASH_OF(<type>);
13 LHASH *lh_<type>_new();
14 void lh_<type>_free(LHASH_OF(<type> *table);
16 <type> *lh_<type>_insert(LHASH_OF(<type> *table, <type> *data);
17 <type> *lh_<type>_delete(LHASH_OF(<type> *table, <type> *data);
18 <type> *lh_retrieve(LHASH_OF<type> *table, <type> *data);
20 void lh_<type>_doall(LHASH_OF(<type> *table, LHASH_DOALL_FN_TYPE func);
21 void lh_<type>_doall_arg(LHASH_OF(<type> *table, LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN_TYPE func,
22 <type2>, <type2> *arg);
24 int lh_<type>_error(LHASH_OF(<type> *table);
26 typedef int (*LHASH_COMP_FN_TYPE)(const void *, const void *);
27 typedef unsigned long (*LHASH_HASH_FN_TYPE)(const void *);
28 typedef void (*LHASH_DOALL_FN_TYPE)(const void *);
29 typedef void (*LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN_TYPE)(const void *, const void *);
33 This library implements type-checked dynamic hash tables. The hash
34 table entries can be arbitrary structures. Usually they consist of key
37 lh_<type>_new() creates a new B<LHASH_OF(<type>> structure to store
38 arbitrary data entries, and provides the 'hash' and 'compare'
39 callbacks to be used in organising the table's entries. The B<hash>
40 callback takes a pointer to a table entry as its argument and returns
41 an unsigned long hash value for its key field. The hash value is
42 normally truncated to a power of 2, so make sure that your hash
43 function returns well mixed low order bits. The B<compare> callback
44 takes two arguments (pointers to two hash table entries), and returns
45 0 if their keys are equal, non-zero otherwise. If your hash table
46 will contain items of some particular type and the B<hash> and
47 B<compare> callbacks hash/compare these types, then the
48 B<DECLARE_LHASH_HASH_FN> and B<IMPLEMENT_LHASH_COMP_FN> macros can be
49 used to create callback wrappers of the prototypes required by
50 lh_<type>_new(). These provide per-variable casts before calling the
51 type-specific callbacks written by the application author. These
52 macros, as well as those used for the "doall" callbacks, are defined
55 #define DECLARE_LHASH_HASH_FN(name, o_type) \
56 unsigned long name##_LHASH_HASH(const void *);
57 #define IMPLEMENT_LHASH_HASH_FN(name, o_type) \
58 unsigned long name##_LHASH_HASH(const void *arg) { \
59 const o_type *a = arg; \
60 return name##_hash(a); }
61 #define LHASH_HASH_FN(name) name##_LHASH_HASH
63 #define DECLARE_LHASH_COMP_FN(name, o_type) \
64 int name##_LHASH_COMP(const void *, const void *);
65 #define IMPLEMENT_LHASH_COMP_FN(name, o_type) \
66 int name##_LHASH_COMP(const void *arg1, const void *arg2) { \
67 const o_type *a = arg1; \
68 const o_type *b = arg2; \
69 return name##_cmp(a,b); }
70 #define LHASH_COMP_FN(name) name##_LHASH_COMP
72 #define DECLARE_LHASH_DOALL_FN(name, o_type) \
73 void name##_LHASH_DOALL(void *);
74 #define IMPLEMENT_LHASH_DOALL_FN(name, o_type) \
75 void name##_LHASH_DOALL(void *arg) { \
78 #define LHASH_DOALL_FN(name) name##_LHASH_DOALL
80 #define DECLARE_LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN(name, o_type, a_type) \
81 void name##_LHASH_DOALL_ARG(void *, void *);
82 #define IMPLEMENT_LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN(name, o_type, a_type) \
83 void name##_LHASH_DOALL_ARG(void *arg1, void *arg2) { \
86 name##_doall_arg(a, b); }
87 #define LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN(name) name##_LHASH_DOALL_ARG
89 An example of a hash table storing (pointers to) structures of type 'STUFF'
90 could be defined as follows;
92 /* Calculates the hash value of 'tohash' (implemented elsewhere) */
93 unsigned long STUFF_hash(const STUFF *tohash);
94 /* Orders 'arg1' and 'arg2' (implemented elsewhere) */
95 int stuff_cmp(const STUFF *arg1, const STUFF *arg2);
96 /* Create the type-safe wrapper functions for use in the LHASH internals */
97 static IMPLEMENT_LHASH_HASH_FN(stuff, STUFF);
98 static IMPLEMENT_LHASH_COMP_FN(stuff, STUFF);
100 int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
101 /* Create the new hash table using the hash/compare wrappers */
102 LHASH_OF(STUFF) *hashtable = lh_STUFF_new(LHASH_HASH_FN(STUFF_hash),
103 LHASH_COMP_FN(STUFF_cmp));
107 lh_<type>_free() frees the B<LHASH_OF(<type>> structure
108 B<table>. Allocated hash table entries will not be freed; consider
109 using lh_<type>_doall() to deallocate any remaining entries in the
110 hash table (see below).
112 lh_<type>_insert() inserts the structure pointed to by B<data> into
113 B<table>. If there already is an entry with the same key, the old
114 value is replaced. Note that lh_<type>_insert() stores pointers, the
117 lh_<type>_delete() deletes an entry from B<table>.
119 lh_<type>_retrieve() looks up an entry in B<table>. Normally, B<data>
120 is a structure with the key field(s) set; the function will return a
121 pointer to a fully populated structure.
123 lh_<type>_doall() will, for every entry in the hash table, call
124 B<func> with the data item as its parameter. For lh_<type>_doall()
125 and lh_<type>_doall_arg(), function pointer casting should be avoided
126 in the callbacks (see B<NOTE>) - instead use the declare/implement
127 macros to create type-checked wrappers that cast variables prior to
128 calling your type-specific callbacks. An example of this is
129 illustrated here where the callback is used to cleanup resources for
130 items in the hash table prior to the hashtable itself being
133 /* Cleans up resources belonging to 'a' (this is implemented elsewhere) */
134 void STUFF_cleanup_doall(STUFF *a);
135 /* Implement a prototype-compatible wrapper for "STUFF_cleanup" */
136 IMPLEMENT_LHASH_DOALL_FN(STUFF_cleanup, STUFF)
137 /* ... then later in the code ... */
138 /* So to run "STUFF_cleanup" against all items in a hash table ... */
139 lh_STUFF_doall(hashtable, LHASH_DOALL_FN(STUFF_cleanup));
140 /* Then the hash table itself can be deallocated */
141 lh_STUFF_free(hashtable);
143 When doing this, be careful if you delete entries from the hash table
144 in your callbacks: the table may decrease in size, moving the item
145 that you are currently on down lower in the hash table - this could
146 cause some entries to be skipped during the iteration. The second
147 best solution to this problem is to set hash-E<gt>down_load=0 before
148 you start (which will stop the hash table ever decreasing in size).
149 The best solution is probably to avoid deleting items from the hash
150 table inside a "doall" callback!
152 lh_<type>_doall_arg() is the same as lh_<type>_doall() except that
153 B<func> will be called with B<arg> as the second argument and B<func>
154 should be of type B<LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN_TYPE> (a callback prototype
155 that is passed both the table entry and an extra argument). As with
156 lh_doall(), you can instead choose to declare your callback with a
157 prototype matching the types you are dealing with and use the
158 declare/implement macros to create compatible wrappers that cast
159 variables before calling your type-specific callbacks. An example of
160 this is demonstrated here (printing all hash table entries to a BIO
161 that is provided by the caller):
163 /* Prints item 'a' to 'output_bio' (this is implemented elsewhere) */
164 void STUFF_print_doall_arg(const STUFF *a, BIO *output_bio);
165 /* Implement a prototype-compatible wrapper for "STUFF_print" */
166 static IMPLEMENT_LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN(STUFF, const STUFF, BIO)
167 /* ... then later in the code ... */
168 /* Print out the entire hashtable to a particular BIO */
169 lh_STUFF_doall_arg(hashtable, LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN(STUFF_print), BIO,
172 lh_<type>_error() can be used to determine if an error occurred in the last
173 operation. lh_<type>_error() is a macro.
177 lh_<type>_new() returns B<NULL> on error, otherwise a pointer to the new
180 When a hash table entry is replaced, lh_<type>_insert() returns the value
181 being replaced. B<NULL> is returned on normal operation and on error.
183 lh_<type>_delete() returns the entry being deleted. B<NULL> is returned if
184 there is no such value in the hash table.
186 lh_<type>_retrieve() returns the hash table entry if it has been found,
189 lh_<type>_error() returns 1 if an error occurred in the last operation, 0
192 lh_<type>_free(), lh_<type>_doall() and lh_<type>_doall_arg() return no values.
196 The various LHASH macros and callback types exist to make it possible
197 to write type-checked code without resorting to function-prototype
198 casting - an evil that makes application code much harder to
199 audit/verify and also opens the window of opportunity for stack
200 corruption and other hard-to-find bugs. It also, apparently, violates
203 The LHASH code regards table entries as constant data. As such, it
204 internally represents lh_insert()'d items with a "const void *"
205 pointer type. This is why callbacks such as those used by lh_doall()
206 and lh_doall_arg() declare their prototypes with "const", even for the
207 parameters that pass back the table items' data pointers - for
208 consistency, user-provided data is "const" at all times as far as the
209 LHASH code is concerned. However, as callers are themselves providing
210 these pointers, they can choose whether they too should be treating
211 all such parameters as constant.
213 As an example, a hash table may be maintained by code that, for
214 reasons of encapsulation, has only "const" access to the data being
215 indexed in the hash table (ie. it is returned as "const" from
216 elsewhere in their code) - in this case the LHASH prototypes are
217 appropriate as-is. Conversely, if the caller is responsible for the
218 life-time of the data in question, then they may well wish to make
219 modifications to table item passed back in the lh_doall() or
220 lh_doall_arg() callbacks (see the "STUFF_cleanup" example above). If
221 so, the caller can either cast the "const" away (if they're providing
222 the raw callbacks themselves) or use the macros to declare/implement
223 the wrapper functions without "const" types.
225 Callers that only have "const" access to data they're indexing in a
226 table, yet declare callbacks without constant types (or cast the
227 "const" away themselves), are therefore creating their own risks/bugs
228 without being encouraged to do so by the API. On a related note,
229 those auditing code should pay special attention to any instances of
230 DECLARE/IMPLEMENT_LHASH_DOALL_[ARG_]_FN macros that provide types
231 without any "const" qualifiers.
235 lh_<type>_insert() returns B<NULL> both for success and error.
239 The following description is based on the SSLeay documentation:
241 The B<lhash> library implements a hash table described in the
242 I<Communications of the ACM> in 1991. What makes this hash table
243 different is that as the table fills, the hash table is increased (or
244 decreased) in size via OPENSSL_realloc(). When a 'resize' is done, instead of
245 all hashes being redistributed over twice as many 'buckets', one
246 bucket is split. So when an 'expand' is done, there is only a minimal
247 cost to redistribute some values. Subsequent inserts will cause more
248 single 'bucket' redistributions but there will never be a sudden large
249 cost due to redistributing all the 'buckets'.
251 The state for a particular hash table is kept in the B<LHASH> structure.
252 The decision to increase or decrease the hash table size is made
253 depending on the 'load' of the hash table. The load is the number of
254 items in the hash table divided by the size of the hash table. The
255 default values are as follows. If (hash->up_load E<lt> load) =E<gt>
256 expand. if (hash-E<gt>down_load E<gt> load) =E<gt> contract. The
257 B<up_load> has a default value of 1 and B<down_load> has a default value
258 of 2. These numbers can be modified by the application by just
259 playing with the B<up_load> and B<down_load> variables. The 'load' is
260 kept in a form which is multiplied by 256. So
261 hash-E<gt>up_load=8*256; will cause a load of 8 to be set.
263 If you are interested in performance the field to watch is
264 num_comp_calls. The hash library keeps track of the 'hash' value for
265 each item so when a lookup is done, the 'hashes' are compared, if
266 there is a match, then a full compare is done, and
267 hash-E<gt>num_comp_calls is incremented. If num_comp_calls is not equal
268 to num_delete plus num_retrieve it means that your hash function is
269 generating hashes that are the same for different values. It is
270 probably worth changing your hash function if this is the case because
271 even if your hash table has 10 items in a 'bucket', it can be searched
272 with 10 B<unsigned long> compares and 10 linked list traverses. This
273 will be much less expensive that 10 calls to your compare function.
275 lh_strhash() is a demo string hashing function:
277 unsigned long lh_strhash(const char *c);
279 Since the B<LHASH> routines would normally be passed structures, this
280 routine would not normally be passed to lh_<type>_new(), rather it would be
281 used in the function passed to lh_<type>_new().
285 L<lh_stats(3)|lh_stats(3)>
289 The B<lhash> library is available in all versions of SSLeay and OpenSSL.
290 lh_error() was added in SSLeay 0.9.1b.
292 This manpage is derived from the SSLeay documentation.
294 In OpenSSL 0.9.7, all lhash functions that were passed function pointers
295 were changed for better type safety, and the function types LHASH_COMP_FN_TYPE,
296 LHASH_HASH_FN_TYPE, LHASH_DOALL_FN_TYPE and LHASH_DOALL_ARG_FN_TYPE
299 In OpenSSL 1.0.0, the lhash interface was revamped for even better