Constant-Time Retrieval with O(log m) Extra Bits

For a set U (the universe), retrieval is the following problem. Given a finite subset S subseteq U of size m and f : S -> {0,1}^r for a small constant r, build a data structure D_f with the property that for a suitable query algorithm query we have query(D_f,x) = f(x) for all x in S. For x in U setminus S the value query(D_f,x) is arbitrary in {0,1}^r. The number of bits needed for D_f should be (1+epsilon)r m with overhead epsilon = epsilon(m) >= 0 as small as possible, while the query time should be small. Of course, the time for constructing D_f is relevant as well. We assume fully random hash functions on U with constant evaluation time are available. It is known that with epsilon ~= 0.09 one can achieve linear construction time and constant query time, and with overhead epsilon_k ~= e^{-k} it is possible to have O(k) query time and O(m^{1+alpha}) construction time, for arbitrary alpha>0. Furthermore, a theoretical construction with epsilon =O((log log m)/sqrt{log m}) gives constant query time and linear construction time. Known constructions avoiding all overhead, except for a seed value of size O(log log m), require logarithmic query time. In this paper, we present a method for treating the retrieval problem with overhead epsilon = O((log m)/m), which corresponds to O(1) extra memory words (O(log m) bits), and an extremely simple, constant-time query operation. The price to pay is a construction time of O(m^2). We employ the usual framework for retrieval data structures, where construction is effected by solving a sparse linear system of equations over the 2-element field F_2 and a query is effected by a dot product calculation. Our main technical contribution is the design and analysis of a new and natural family of sparse random linear systems with m equations and (1+epsilon)m variables, which combines good locality properties with high probability of having full rank. Paying a larger overhead of epsilon = O((log m)/m^alpha), the construction time can be reduced to O(m^{1+alpha}) for arbitrary constant 0 < alpha < 1. In combination with an adaptation of known techniques for solving sparse linear systems of equations, our approach leads to a highly practical algorithm for retrieval. In a particular benchmark with m = 10^7 we achieve an order-of-magnitude improvement over previous techniques with epsilon = 0.24% instead of the previously best result of epsilon ~= 3%, with better query time and no significant sacrifices in construction time

Dense peelable random uniform hypergraphs

We describe a new family of k-uniform hypergraphs with independent random edges. The hypergraphs have a high probability of being peelable, i.e. to admit no sub-hypergraph of minimum degree 2, even when the edge density (number of edges over vertices) is close to 1. In our construction, the vertex set is partitioned into linearly arranged segments and each edge is incident to random vertices of k consecutive segments. Quite surprisingly, the linear geometry allows our graphs to be peeled "from the outside in". The density thresholds f_k for peelability of our hypergraphs (f_3 ~ 0.918, f_4 ~ 0.977, f_5 ~ 0.992, ...) are well beyond the corresponding thresholds (c_3 ~ 0.818, c_4 ~ 0.772, c_5 ~ 0.702, ...) of standard k-uniform random hypergraphs. To get a grip on f_k, we analyse an idealised peeling process on the random weak limit of our hypergraph family. The process can be described in terms of an operator on [0,1]^Z and f_k can be linked to thresholds relating to the operator. These thresholds are then tractable with numerical methods. Random hypergraphs underlie the construction of various data structures based on hashing, for instance invertible Bloom filters, perfect hash functions, retrieval data structures, error correcting codes and cuckoo hash tables, where inputs are mapped to edges using hash functions. Frequently, the data structures rely on peelability of the hypergraph or peelability allows for simple linear time algorithms. Memory efficiency is closely tied to edge density while worst and average case query times are tied to maximum and average edge size. To demonstrate the usefulness of our construction, we used our 3-uniform hypergraphs as a drop-in replacement for the standard 3-uniform hypergraphs in a retrieval data structure by Botelho et al. [Fabiano Cupertino Botelho et al., 2013]. This reduces memory usage from 1.23m bits to 1.12m bits (m being the input size) with almost no change in running time. Using k > 3 attains, at small sacrifices in running time, further improvements to memory usage