R. Clayton (rclayton@monmouth.edu)
(no date)
Can I use a hash function I found from the internet in my the O(n^2)
algorithm? I have written my own simple hash function and a scheme of
avoiding collisions.
You ask a sticky question. I'd prefer that you struggle with these problems on
your own, because that's where learning comes from. I'd prefer even more if
you struggle with someone else, because you learn even more and spread the
learning around. The Internet, in my experience, doesn't promote learning as
well as the previous two possibilities, but it depends a lot on the character
of the person using it.
Rather than do something futile (and stupid) like prohibiting you from using
the internet, let me just restate my expectation that any work you hand-in be
your own work. My test for this is simple: sitting at a table using nothing
but a paper and pencil, you should be able to recreate, to a fairly complete
degree, your solution and you should be able to answer questions about your
solution. If you feel confident about your ability to do this, then you don't
have too much to worry about, at least with respect to copying and cheating.
In this case, getting a hash function to work well in the context of this
problem is going to be the real difficulty, and I don't think internet is going
to help you much there (in fact, it may hurt you because, by not developing the
algorithm yourself, you may not have the fundamental insights needed make the
necessary discoveries). This, along with what you've written above, leads me
to guess that, assuming you hand-in a working assignment, you'd be able to pass
the test, and what you've done won't cause you problems.
My O(n^2) algorithm - which, now that you mention it, uses a hash function,
although that's not what I was thinking about when I developed it - fell apart
over the weekend when I tested it on points drawn from the 10^6-by-10^6 square
centered at the origin. I don't know if I'll be able to fix it by the
deadline.
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