python
diff --git a/‎Lib/test/support/__init__.py‎
Lines changed: 41 additions & 0 deletions b/‎Lib/test/support/__init__.py‎
Lines changed: 41 additions & 0 deletions
@@ -2944,3 +2944,44 @@ def __fspath__(self):
 def maybe_get_event_loop_policy():
     """Return the global event loop policy if one is set, else return None."""
     return asyncio.events._event_loop_policy
+
+# Helpers for testing hashing.
+NHASHBITS = sys.hash_info.width # number of bits in hash() result
+assert NHASHBITS in (32, 64)
+
+# Return mean and sdev of number of collisions when tossing nballs balls
+# uniformly at random into nbins bins.  By definition, the number of
+# collisions is the number of balls minus the number of occupied bins at
+# the end.
+def collision_stats(nbins, nballs):
+    n, k = nbins, nballs
+    # prob a bin empty after k trials = (1 - 1/n)**k
+    # mean # empty is then n * (1 - 1/n)**k
+    # so mean # occupied is n - n * (1 - 1/n)**k
+    # so collisions = k - (n - n*(1 - 1/n)**k)
+    #
+    # For the variance:
+    # n*(n-1)*(1-2/n)**k + meanempty - meanempty**2 =
+    # n*(n-1)*(1-2/n)**k + meanempty * (1 - meanempty)
+    #
+    # Massive cancellation occurs, and, e.g., for a 64-bit hash code
+    # 1-1/2**64 rounds uselessly to 1.0.  Rather than make heroic (and
+    # error-prone) efforts to rework the naive formulas to avoid those,
+    # we use the `decimal` module to get plenty of extra precision.
+    #
+    # Note:  the exact values are straightforward to compute with
+    # rationals, but in context that's unbearably slow, requiring
+    # multi-million bit arithmetic.
+    import decimal
+    with decimal.localcontext() as ctx:
+        bits = n.bit_length() * 2  # bits in n**2
+        # At least that many bits will likely cancel out.
+        # Use that many decimal digits instead.
+        ctx.prec = max(bits, 30)
+        dn = decimal.Decimal(n)
+        p1empty = ((dn - 1) / dn) ** k
+        meanempty = n * p1empty
+        occupied = n - meanempty
+        collisions = k - occupied
+        var = dn*(dn-1)*((dn-2)/dn)**k + meanempty * (1 - meanempty)
+        return float(collisions), float(var.sqrt())