I googled for C hash libraries, and came across one of those 'shootout' blog posts where they compare memory size and cpu usage, and klib looked to be a winner.

I googled for C hash libraries, and came across one of those 'shootout' blog posts where they compare memory size and cpu usage, and klib looked to be a winner. Plus it's only one or two header files to make it work. Documentation was poor, so i contributed some. So i'm happy with my choice. Yes, the macro-oriented stuff is a headache, but the raw speed it gives you is worth it. And don't think you're years away from C! I work in C# and javascript mainly (and recently, obj-c) so, for me, this is as much a learning exercise as anything.