MurmurHash3A Hash Code Calculator

MurmurHash3 is a non-cryptographic hash function designed by Austin Appleby in 2008. It's widely used for general-purpose hashing due to its speed, simplicity, and good distribution properties. MurmurHash functions are particularly effective for hash-based data structures like hash tables, bloom filters, and data deduplication systems.

The variant presented on this page is the 3A variant, which is optimized for 32 bit systems. It produces 32 bit (4 byte) hash codes, typically represented as an 8 digit hexadecimal number.

Full disclosure: I did not write the specific implementation of the hash function used on this page. It is a standard function included with the PHP programming language. I only made the web interface to make it publicly available here for convenience.

About the MurmurHash3A Hash Algorithm

I'm not a mathematician, but I'll try to explain this hash function using an analogy that my fellow non-mathematicians can understand. If you prefer a scientifically correct, full-on math explanation, I'm sure you can find that elsewhere ;-)

Now, imagine you have a big box of LEGO bricks. Each time you arrange them in a specific way, you take a picture. No matter how big or colorful the arrangement is, the camera always gives you a small, fixed-size photo. That photo represents your LEGO creation, but in a compact form.

MurmurHash3 does something similar with data. It takes any kind of data (text, numbers, files) and shrinks it down to a small, fixed "fingerprint" or hash value. This fingerprint helps computers quickly identify, sort, and compare data without needing to look at the whole thing.

Another analogy would be like baking a cake and MurmurHash3 is the recipe to turn that cake into a small cupcake (the hash). This would be a three step process:

Step 1: Chop into Pieces (Breaking the Data)

• First, MurmurHash3 slices your data into equal chunks, like cutting the cake into even squares.

Step 2: Mix Like Crazy (Mixing the Chunks)

• Each piece goes through a wild mixing process:
  • Flipping: Like flipping a pancake, it rearranges the bits.
  • Stirring: Adds random ingredients (mathematical operations) to mix things up.
  • Squishing: Presses the data together to make sure no original piece stands out.

Step 3: Final Taste Test (Finalization)

• After mixing all the chunks, MurmurHash3 gives it one final stir to ensure even the tiniest crumb of change in the original data would totally change the flavor (the hash).