Is it possible for a hash function to produce the same result for different data?

Yes, it is possible. A hash function maps arbitrary data of fixed length to a hash value of fixed length. Since the set of possible input data is usually much larger than the set of possible hash values, collisions inevitably occur — situations where different data produce the same hash.

This is a fundamental limitation of all hash functions. A good hash function minimizes the probability of collisions and distributes values evenly, but they cannot be completely eliminated.

Example: in Python, the hash() function for different objects may return the same value, especially with limited hash length.

print(hash("apple"))
print(hash("elppa"))  # May coincide with the hash of "apple" in rare cases

For cryptographic hashes (e.g., SHA-256), the probability of collisions is extremely low but theoretically possible.