Vik, What exactly do you mean by "separate chains"? I had assumes you were referring to lists attached to hash buckets. -- Alex Balashov - Principal Evariste Systems LLC Tel: +1-678-954-0670 Web: http://www.evaristesys.com/, http://www.alexbalashov.com/ Please be kind to the English language: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232906