Peter Otten wrote:
So, precisely, you mean that if hash(a) != hash(b), a and b are considered distinct, and else [ie. if hash(a) == hash(b)], a and b are the same if and only if a == b ?Correct for set, dict. For lists etc. the hash doesn't matter:
Since CPython saves strings hashes as part of the string object (last I read, as part of internal string caching), it does something similar. Compare lengths, then hashes, then C array.
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