How does a hash function determine which bucket to place a given value in?

A hash function computes the bucket index by hashing the key and then using an operation that limits the result to the size of the bucket array.

In Go, this usually works as follows:

1. The hash value of the key is computed (for example, using a built-in hash function).
2. The resulting number is taken modulo the number of buckets (len(buckets)) or using a bitmask if the size of buckets is a power of two.

Example:

hash := hashFunction(key)
bucketIndex := hash % len(buckets)

Thus, the hash function distributes keys across buckets for efficient search and insertion.