A hash table is a representation of a set in a linear size data structure that supports constanttime membership queries. We show how to construct a hash table for any given set of n keys in O(lg lg n) parallel time with high probability, using n processors on a weak version of a crcw pram. Our algorithm uses a novel approach of hashing by "oblivious execution" based on probabilistic analysis to circumvent the parity lower bound barrier at the near-logarithmic time level. The algorithm is simple and is sketched by the following: 1. Partition the input set into buckets by a random polynomial of constant degree. 2. For t := 1 to O(lg lg n) do (a) Allocate M t memory blocks, each of size K t . (b) Let each bucket select a block at random, and try to injectively map its keys into the block using a random linear function. Buckets that fail carry on to the next iteration. The crux of the algorithm is a careful a priori selection of the parameters M t and K t . The algorithm uses only O(lg lg...

The topic of the chapter is string data structures with applications in the field of computational molecular biology. Let � be a finite alphabet consisting of a set of characters (or symbols). The cardinality of the alphabet denoted by |� | expresses the number of distinct characters in the alphabet. A string or word is an ordered list