GetHashCode() with ^

Question

Does it have some special meaning when GetHashCode() function returns something using code which contains ^ symbol?

public class ClassProp
{
    public int Prop1 { get; set; }
    public int Prop2 { get; set; }
    public int Prop3 { get; set; }
    public int Prop4 { get; set; }
    public int Prop5 { get; set; }

    public override int GetHashCode()
    {
        return Prop1.GetHashCode() ^ Prop2.GetHashCode() ^ 
               Prop3.GetHashCode() ^ Prop4.GetHashCode() ^ Prop5.GetHashCode();
    }
}

Answer 1

^ is the C# XOR operator. Nothing "special" about it, just that the hash codes of all the class properties are XOR'd together.

Edit: GetHashCode returns a generic code that is used as a shorthand identifier for a complex object. A common use is in hashing data structures when you want to store objects and then quickly retrieve them based on their hash code. Assume a class Person and some objects with the corresponding hash codes:

Alex 8540
John 9435
Peter 2453

These codes are generated based on some or all the fields of each object and must collide as rarely as possible to ensure efficient hashing. Now we can store the objects in a hash table using the hash code:

Entries
0 -> Alex
1 -> John
2 -> Peter

The objects are stored inside the table using their respective hash codes to determine the position. Next they can be easily retrieved by using the same hash code.

I suggest you find some literature about how hash tables work, because it's a bit too much to explain in an SO post.