Suggest an editImprove this articleRefine the answer for “What does the modulo (%) operation do in hashing? How is it related to indices?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.Approval requiredContentWhat you’re changing🇺🇸EN🇺🇦UAPreviewTitle (EN)Short answer (EN)The **modulo (%)** operation in hashing is used to **turn a large hash value into a valid array index** where the hash table's data is stored. **Key point:** the modulo operation ties the "abstract" hash to a specific storage location in the table, turning the hash into a real array index.Shown above the full answer for quick recall.Answer (EN)ImageThe **modulo (%)** operation in hashing is used to **turn a large hash value into a valid array index** where the hash table's data is stored. ## How it works 1. The hash function returns an integer, sometimes a very large one. 2. The table has a limited size `N` (for example, 100 slots). 3. To "fit" the hash into the index range `[0 ... N-1]`, we compute: ```javascript index = hash(key) % N ``` 4. The result is an index, the position in the array where the element will be placed. ## Example ```javascript hash("dog") = 123456 N = 10 index = 123456 % 10 = 6 ``` So the element with key `"dog"` lands in slot #6. ## Why the modulo specifically - `%` gives an even distribution across the index range; - it guarantees that the index **never goes out of the array's bounds**. ## Summary The **modulo** operation ties the "abstract" hash to a specific storage location in the table: it turns the hash into a **real array index** where the data lives.For the reviewerNote to the moderator (optional)Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.